


Layers, Waves

by DimCandleLight



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Kindergarten & Pre-school, Alternate Universe - Teachers, Assumptions, Ethical Dilemmas, Kid Fic, M/M, Single Parents, if not for jaehyun being an aquarius..., too many of them, which do not have to be there!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:28:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29627724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DimCandleLight/pseuds/DimCandleLight
Summary: Jaehyun is a good, ethical, honest, honorable—you get the gist—  kindergarten teacher. His students’ backgrounds don't affect how he treats them, so he has never given it much thought.Until he meets Doyoung at a housewarming party, where he discovers there is more to him than what meets the eye.Or,Kim Doyoung: The best researcher in the field, Hottest Dad™  on sight.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun & Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung
Comments: 6
Kudos: 105





	Layers, Waves

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sunsetude](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunsetude/gifts).



> [𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐢𝐧: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐖𝐈𝐏𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞.]
> 
> the idea is to donate a WIP, and in return receive another from someone else. writers are "to keep the base plot and build on it. take our own, personal flair and make something new."
> 
> the original prompt given by sunsetude is:
>
>> Jaehyun has never given much thought to who teaches his god-son but when he meets doyoung on a friday night in a bar, he discovers there is more to him than what meets the eye.  
> Or, kim doyoung: kind preschool teacher by day, hot uni student by night.
> 
> this prompt gives me so much joy, so it feels like a pity to even change this much. but it's also an interesting challenge!! i had fun, so i hope anyone who happens across this fic would enjoy this too <3 

In Moon Kindergarten, the teachers' room is not usually quiet.

Sometimes, teachers gather at one of the cubicles to discuss an issue of their student. Sometimes, they help each other out with the lesson plans. Sometimes, there are urgent events that need preparing for, but some of the _other_ times?

The crowd just wants to gossip.

“Teacher Jung, did you know about this?”

Jaehyun looks up from the handwriting on the test papers that he has been trying to discern for the past few hours.

Three other teachers— Kim Junho, Lee Mansik, and Kim Taeri, all older and have been working here longer than him. Dubbed by many as the Teacher Trio. They stare back at him from the coffee table. Ironic how it is called a coffee table when those who use it daily only sit around it and chat. They are not even pretending to take five from work right now, having sat there before Jaehyun’s exam supervision duty ended and he returned to the room.

“Um, about what?”

“Apparently, Teacher Do’s gotten married over the break,” Taeri says.

Mansik nods enthusiastically. “The principal told me that a new teacher is coming today to take over his class.”

Teacher Do is only four years older than Jaehyun. In spite of the fact that he taught the class right next to him, they had not talked a lot to each other, outside what the necessities warrant.

“Oh, I didn't hear anything about that.” Jaehyun shrugs. He turns back to his files. Work won’t get magically done if he chitchats all day, so he pays no further attention to the other teachers as their muttering continues in the background.

* * *

Contrary to a physical education teacher’s image and what his friends claim about him, Jaehyun enjoys reading. To be honest, he reads a lot of materials. Even children's books. The bookshelves at the back of the classroom can vouch for that, but no one has ever been around to witness it before.

"You're a dork, aren't you, Teacher Jung?"

Jaehyun lifts his buried nose from the book that he's been poring over. It's an interesting story today. A pair of twins going on a flying chair to fantasy lands. He was so engrossed in their adventures that he only realises an hour has gone by. An hour of his butt glued to the uncomfortable, definitely-not-made-for-adults, bright yellow seat in his empty classroom.

Empty, that is, except for him and another preschool teacher at the door.

"Teacher Huang Renjun," he says. The new teacher taking over Teacher Do’s class. It has only been two days since he came to the kindergarten. Jaehyun does not have to go out of his way to have awkward small talks with a new colleague.

He nods politely towards Renjun, because they are not close enough to be around each other past their office time and chit chat. Definitely not enough to be joking about or teasing each other.

Snorting, Renjun walks in. "Teacher Jung, I've always been curious, you know?" He starts.

Jaehyun raises an inauspicious eyebrow. "What are you curious about?"

"Oh, a lot of things, actually." Jaehyun had not known that eyes could sparkle like that. "But first, why are you always reluctant to talk with me? Have I ever done something wrong to you?"

_Oh._

Rubbing his nape, Jaehyun glances away. "That's already a lot of questions," he murmurs.

Renjun does not pay a verbal response to that. Instead, he pulls out a dark blue chair from the same table and sits down next to Jaehyun. Leans back and stares at him.

The close attention sets Jaehyun's nerves aflame, figurative hackles raised. "I'm not _reluctant_ to talk to you, or anyone else for that matter,” he says. “I just don't know how to start conversations with people I'm not close with. You haven't done anything wrong."

A smile blooms to both corners of Renjun's lips. "I see. Now, I understand."

Jaehyun clears his throat. That's a first. Usually people would take offence that he has not taken any effort to grow closer to them.

“Teacher Jung.” Renjun extends his right hand. "Do you wanna be friends, then? It kinda sucks being the youngest teacher here with no friend who I'm comfortable with."

Jaehyun accepts the handshake. He nods. "Okay."

Then, because his brain only just catches up, he frowns at their intertwined hands. "Does this mean you want to drop the formality and call me hyung?"

Renjun laughs, earnest, and the sound echoes around the classroom. "Do you not want me to?"

Jaehyun grins. Decides, in that split second, that he does not hate this. Squeezes Renjun's hand once before letting go.

"To be honest, no. I’m just gonna call you Renjun anyway, so go ahead. Let's be friends."

* * *

Jaehyun is content with where he is in life now. He is not lonely. He really is not. How could he be, when he has fifteen kids? This is also, conveniently, his go-to excuse when his mom brings up the topics of marriage— which, to be honest, has been coming up a lot these days.

Coming out as bisexual totally does not stop his mom from asking him if he has yet found anyone made of wife-material and/or husband-material. Whatever _that_ is supposed to mean. In fact, he thinks that out of all possibilities, it just seems to double her efforts.

 _As if_ he can meet a person interesting enough for longtime relationships when he has been slaving his early adulthood for a degree and a piece of child care certificate, then dedicates most of his waking hours to some six-years-olds. The same six-years-olds, who, to be frank, could have been the devil's spawns straight out from the deepest pit of hell. Those devil advocates.

(They are all little shits. Jaehyun _loves_ them _and_ would not mind dying to protect them.)

"Teach."

Jaehyun steps on his mind-brake, effectively stopping the accidental surf down the nostalgia lane. He smiles at the boy standing by his desk. "Yes, Junhwi?"

"I need help with the last question, Teacher. Please?"

Now, how can he refuse puppy eyes _and_ a sincere please? Jaehyun is only a weak human with a big heart, after all. He nods.

Following Junhwi to his seat at the back of the class, Jaehyun makes sure to check over some of his other students.

Seah is the type to cry by herself first when she cannot solve tasks.

Hyunjoon likes to disturb his classmates when he's finished his homework— which is exactly what is going to happen should Jaehyun has not noticed it first.

Smiling, Jaehyun pats Seah's shoulder. She blinks up at him, stubborn droplets of tears gathered on her thick eyelashes while her lips quiver. He glances over the homework sheets on their table. Sighs with a mix of relief and pity. They are both doing a Mathematics exercise. He places down a blank piece of paper on Hyunjoon's table.

"Hyunjoon-ah, can you help me to show the steps you used to solve the tenth question here to Seah?"

Grinning, Hyunjoon nods and drops the eraser from his grip. A hint of a smile tugs on Seah's lips. Thank god. Crisis averted just in time.

When Jaehyun reaches the back of the class, Junhwi has been waiting for him with a clean page of his workbook.

"Teacher, this one first." The boy starts eagerly. "Which one comes first; 'my family' or 'I'?"

Easy. Jaehyun smiles. " _I_ go last, Junhwi. We should always prioritise others."

Junhwi frowns. Taps the blank page with his pencil. "That's not true."

He does not sound like he is fully against the idea, so Jaehyun still has a chance.

"And why is that not?"

"Because, Teach, last time when I went to the bathroom with you, you told me to not mind if Minyoung offers me a sweet. I should prioritise my _bowel movements_ , you said, Teach."

Deep breaths. Jaehyun should have known better. Of course it is not _that_ easy.

"This is different, Junhwi-yah."

Junhwi frowns. He should not do that if he does not want his eyebrows stuck like a constantly annoyed person, growing up. Jaehyun reminds him that.

"Ah, sorry, Teach."

It is then when the class president, Minyoung tugs his sleeve. Jaehyun looks over to her. To this day, he still regrets allowing the class president to sit right next to the most sceptical kid in class. Case in point, today.

"Teach, what is a _bowel_ movement?" Minyoung asks.

Jaehyun swallows a chortle. They are lucky to have homeroom period last today, after their snack time. Otherwise, this could have gone wrong really fast.

Before he can provide an explanation, Junhwi taps his book again, taking away his deskmate's attention.

"It's when we need the bathroom! You know, doing the number two!"

Minyoung's face lights up. "Oh, I see!"

_Bless these children._

Jaehyun inhales, more than ready to change the topic. " See, Junhwi, we should prioritise others, so 'I' come _after_ other people. But prioritising your… say, bowel movement, also makes others comfortable and happy.

"Do you get it? Are there any other concerns about your _homework_?"

Both Minyoung and Junhwi shake their heads.

Jaehyun lets out the breath he is holding.

* * *

There is very little warning before an envelope flops onto the spread of Jaehyun’s lesson plan. First of all, _rude_. Secondly, it is not like Renjun to barge into his space without preamble. Jaehyun smoothes a frown off his forehead and tries not to look as judgemental as he internally feels.

Renjun takes in a deep breath and jabs his thumb towards the mysterious pink envelope. Jaehyun tracks the movement with his eyes.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.”

Carefully, Jaehyun prods the adhesive part apart. He pulls out a card, the surface of the thick paper nice to the touch of his fingertips. On the front, ‘You’re In _jaem_ ited!’ is printed neatly in the middle of roses and gardens of flowers. The back tells him an unfamiliar address, again in that same neat font.

He raises an eyebrow at Renjun.

Raising his hands up in a gesture of placate, Renjun shakes his head and leans back from where he has been peering beside Jaehyun to read the invitation.

“That dumbass,” he says, his voice full of fondness — a bit _too much_ for it to be platonic, if Jaehyun is being entirely honest here but, hey. No judging, right?

“It’s from my friend, his name is Jaemin.” Renjun shrugs. “He moved into a new house recently— which I helped choose, by the way— gave me extra to invite anyone I’d liked, and said that he wanted to cook for as many as possible.”

The dots connect with a silent click.

Jaehyun pretends to finger the embossed printed writing on the card, when in reality, he is positively brimming with restless curiosity and excitement. He chooses to point out the obvious first. “You like me enough to invite me over?”

Renjun gives him a scary pointed glare. “Hyung, if I don’t like you, would I even spend my time with you when you’re the most annoying teacher here?”

 _Oh._ Jaehyun blinks, feeling the familiar telltale warmth of red flush smearing to the tip of his ears.

“If you don’t want to accept this,” Renjun clears his throat and leans in to grab the invitation away from Jaehyun, “then give it back. I just wanted to give you a chance to loosen up and have fun for once. Ugh.”

Pouting, Jaehyun cradles the card and its envelope to his chest. “No take backs! Besides, I didn’t say I’m not going,” he says.

Renjun stares at him, the hard lines of a frown easing off his forehead. “Hyung, I’m not forcing you to come, you know.”

“I know. I _want_ to go.”

Renjun sighs and relents.

Jaehyun smiles. "Besides, I'm like, your only close friend here or whatever, right?"

Four seconds of laughter are all he gets before Renjun threatens to choke him. Now this is normal as he knows it, from these past few months. It is nice.

* * *

Apparently, Jaemin lives in an apartment about an hour away from Jaehyun's. The place is tidy and cozy. After introducing himself, Jaehyun gives his present—a cute jar of an expensive brand of coffee beans that comes in a paper bag— to the guy who welcomed him in.

Na Jaemin (25 years-old, dentist) grins, a pleased flush rising to his cheeks, and clutches the bag carefully. "Thank you! Did Renjunnie suggest this?"

Grinning wide himself, Jaehyun nods. When they chose it, Renjun told him to keep his help a secret, but he also spilled about Jaehyun's weakness to the teachers trio last Wednesday at school (spoiler for readers: he cannot take compliments well.) In Jaehyun's perfectly reasonable argument, he had had a tragic time evading the trio all week.

Just after he complimented Jaemin's fluffy rug at the door, Renjun pops out from the kitchen, balancing a tray of drinks on one hand. In a flash, Jaemin is at his side to take over the task.

And here come some internal arguments. Look. Jaehyun can be a vindictive friend— an eye for an eye, a secret for a secret, a weakness for a weakness and all that jazz— but he is in essence nothing less than a respectful fiend. Nothing to debate here. Thus, Jaehyun chooses to watch respectfully and store his observations somewhere in his memory for later introspect (read: future harmless blackmail).

Renjun laughs at something Jaemin had whispered into his ears. A pink tinge colours his face. Then, he notices Jaehyun standing some distance away. "Oh, Jaehyun-hyung, you’re here!"

Jaehyun waves in acknowledgement, and stops pretending to be interested in the invisible stain on the spotless floor. He looks around, taking in the full sight of the house. The television in the living room is switched on to a documentary channel— a flock of gulls are flying in the screen-sky— but not a single person in the room is paying attention to the scene.

Some of the guests are eating. Others mingle and chat, while three teenagers are loudly engaged in a game of jenga blocks near the narrow balcony, the view outside clear from the transparent sliding door.

The blue sky. The massive condominium. The sight of cars and public buses on the road below. Jaehyun whistles under his breath.

“Impressive view,” he points out.

Jaemin pouts. Renjun breaks into another fit of laughter.

“What?" Jaehyun asks. "Oh wait, is this an inside joke that I’m not allowed to know?”

Jaemin huffs. “Renjun suggested I rent this house because the overview reminds him of what the K-Drama CEOs’ windows look like— only a lot more cheaper.”

Renjun snorts. “Everyone else pointed out the view and he thinks we’re shallow for being impressed about such a materialistic added value.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Jaemin glances over at Jaehyun in alarm. He looks halfway towards doing a panic apologetic stance.

“Yeah?" Renjun raises a challenging eyebrow. "Tell me that the windows at your parents’ house don’t look like this, and that’s the reason why you aren’t impressed easily.”

Jaemin opens his mouth in indignation. Closes it. Swallows. Frowns.

“That’s enough, Renjun.” Jaehyun gives Jaemin a few gentle pats on his shoulder with a mixture of both genuine sympathy and gradual amusement. “Stop giving the host a hard time.”

Jaemin unhinges his mouth open so fast at that. His eyelashes are wet with droplets of dramatic tears while he blinks.

“Jaehyun-hyung! Thank you, I _know_ that I can trust you since the moment you rang the bell. I didn’t even know the bell works!” he cries out and hugs Jaehyun’s shoulders.

Nodding goodnaturedly, Jaehyun looks around again and counts the heads as inconspicuously as he can. There are about twenty people top, possibly less.

Rolling his eyes, Renjun grabs Jaemin’s arm and pulls him away from Jaehyun. "Hyung, you should eat something. I personally recommend the pasta. It's terrific."

“Are you saying that because you made them or—”

“Now, now, shush, not so loud!”

Chuckling at their antics, Jaehyun excuses himself and steers towards the makeshift buffet table. He scoops up a heap of the pasta into his plate, and then makes sure to get a bit of everything else. Once satisfied, he scans around for an empty space to sit down and dig in.

Except, the room is full. People swarm about at every visible corner, chatting and eating and playing games in a small group. Jaehyun grits his teeth. Ah. This is the part which he prefers less about going to a gathering. He does not see any familiar face sans Renjun, and while that is to be expected, it does not make him any less miserable.

Stuck at the buffet, Jaehyun glances around again.

Someone has switched off the television. Not that it makes the noises any more decipherable. Renjun has joined a group of guys sitting cross-legged on the floor, where the jenga set has been stolen and is stared at by five pairs of competitive eyes. Two middle-aged couples occupy the long L-shaped sofa nearby, talking amongst themselves with plastic cups in their hands and occasionally patting— who look like their children— on the arm to include them in the conversation. The teenagers keep making funny faces at each other when their parents are not looking but hold poker faces when they are.

Sighing, Jaehyun stares down at his full plate.

“So, Jaehyun-hyung. A teacher?”

Jaehyun glances up. Jaemin pulls out two chairs from a small foldable table and smiles at him. They had not been there when he looked around before. He quickly strides over.

“Yeah, I work at the same place as Renjun.” He places his plate down and takes a seat. He is so hungry he feels like he can inhale the entire plate in seconds like a vacuum.

“Aha. So you _are_ a teacher!” Jaemin tilts his head and considers him with a hum.

“Where do you usually eat lunch during work days, hyung?”

Jaehyun quirks an eyebrow and stops eating. The fork, which is heavily wrapped with pasta, is stuck past his lips.

“Oh, please don’t mind me! Eat, eat! Sorry if I’m being too talkative. Here, have some of these cheese tarts too.” Jaemin slides a plate of tarts over to his side of the table— as if his silence can be bought by some mere cheese tarts.

Jaehyun rushes to swallow the food in his mouth. If he pulls the tarts’ plate closer to him, then it is no one else’s business.

“No, Jaemin, don’t worry, I don't mind." Shrugging, Jaehyun rests his spoon and fork on the plate. "Just, I'm curious why you asked. I usually eat the wrapped food sold at a stall near the kindergarten.”

Jaemin grins. “Ah, _that’s_ why. I actually first met Renjun during lunch— we usually eat together at the food court.”

“At K Mall?”

“Yeah!”

Huh. Jaehyun nods slowly around a mouthful of cheese and blueberry.

After sweeping a glance around over his other guests, Jaemin gives him a wistful stare and opens his mouth to say something— _ask_ something? His face speaks of a secret few probably knows— but the front door swings open first.

"I'm here," the man at the door announces loudly. There is a rustle of plastic bags and a clack of cans, then a grunt.

"Some help is— ugh— appreciated!"

Jaemin is on his feet before anyone else can react. He strides towards the door and holds it ajar.

"Oh, hey, Jaemin-ah!" The man in black outfits— is that a _leather_ jacket?— turns towards Jaemin, and his face is finally no longer overshadowed by the door. The slight frown on his face eases off, and the smile that appears in its place is wide and kind.

Jaehyun looks down to his plain white shirt, tucked into a pair of ripped jeans. A wave of regret washes over him. He should pay more attention to what he grabs out of his wardrobe next time.

Jaemin heaves the plastic bags onto the table and beckons the other adults to treat themselves. "Thank you for the beer, hyung."

Jaehyun is not listening in. He is too busy stuffing his mouth to notice anything strange about the new guest that piques his interest. For example, the fact that his perfume is like a fresh-out-of-the-washing-machine bed sheet hanging under a bright sunny day. Which smells very nice, by the way. Oh, but to reiterate his main point, Jaehyun is _not_ a creep. He does not like eavesdropping.

“Eh, don’t mention it," The late guest waves it off. "Where’s Jeno, by the way? Her mom asked me about him, saying something like he hasn’t called home for the week?”

Jaemin snorts. “Look for yourself.”

Alright. Jaehyun has to admit, he _is_ intrigued now.

In his defence, this is just overhearing, not intended snooping. They do talk rather loudly. He lifts his spoon and admires the engraving on the steel— anything to pretend like he is not glancing over out of curiosity.

Both Jaemin and Late Guest are looking at where Renjun and several others are bickering about what probably are the correct rules for a jenga game. A guy is gaining volume talking to Renjun— Are they actually fighting?— while one of the other guys is staring at him with a soft smile.

Late Guest shifts his bangs away from his eyes and squints at the sight. “No way.”

“Yes way.” Jaemin snickers.

“Don’t tell me!” Late Guest gasps dramatically. “He’s got a _boy?_ _Him?_ Lee Jeno, the boy who wanted to be a firetruck when he was a child??”

Jaemin laughs. “We’re not gonna stay the same little boys you used to know, Doyoung-hyung. Twenty-six years olds aren’t little kids anymore.” His gaze softens, but he is still looking at the little group and not at—

—Oh, look at that! Calling someone as the Late Guest in his mind is not sitting right with Jaehyun for some reason. _A_ _name_ , he rejoices mentally. _Doyoung_. Beautiful name.

But Jaemin is, curiously enough, not looking at Doyoung.

In the meantime, the jenga players group has almost turned their verbal fight full-blown into a boisterous bet. Of Jenga. With actual money, considering that wallets are being pulled out aggressively out of pockets.

Shaking his head, Jaemin is already stepping away from the food when he opens his mouth. “Fill in your stomach, hyung. I need to stop the dumbasses from opening their wallets, they won’t be able to survive until payday.”

Doyoung stares at Jaemin's back as he goes and sighs. “They used to be such cute boys… when did they all grow up and multiply into a group of six? All sharing a single working brain cell, too.”

Upon hearing that commentary, Jaehyun cannot hold back the chortle past his mouth. He bites down on his lip and hurries to look amused at his plate. But the pasta is all gone. The cheese tarts seem too pretty to be laughed at. Hesitantly, he takes a look at Doyoung.

Doyoung is already looking at him. _Checking him out,_ Jaehyun's brain whispers idiotically. He bites his bottom lip harder to snap out of that ridiculous hypothesis. It can’t be. They are strangers. (“You want to change that,” his brain whispers louder this time.)

As their eyes meet, Doyoung offers a smile. The same wide and kind smile from back then.

“I’m Doyoung. Kim Doyoung, Jaemin’s childhood friend, older than him by five years.” Doyoung extends a hand towards him.

Jaehyun finds himself reaching out before he can have second thoughts. “Jung Jaehyun. I’m Renjun’s colleague.”

“Renjun? Huang Renjun, the handsome guy Jaemin has been harbouring some… _feelings_ on?”

Jaehyun grins. “Glad to know that I’m not the only who noticed.”

“Oh, please!” Doyoung rolls his eyes and claims the chair that Jaemin has vacated. “They’re frustratingly obvious— and I’ve only ever seen them together in one room twice, including today!”

Sharing an amused look, they both break into laughter.

Ah, the joy of bonding over your friends’ obvious-except-to-them crush.

Jaehyun nudges the plate of cheese tarts towards Doyoung. “Feel free to have some.”

Doyoung nods with a small thanks and takes one. His eyes light up. “Wow, these are amazing!”

Jaehyun nods enthusiastically, pleased that he has made the right choice offering them up. He eyes Doyoung’s side profile. He has beautiful features, and dresses well too. Looks hot, and so far friendship-loyalty approved. Maybe Jaehyun is biased, but he has good eyes. His mom also claims that he is a good judge of character.

Unexpectedly, but in a pleasant way, today is going better than what he has in mind. Maybe he should let Renjun invite him to small gatherings like this again.

Sometime later in the evening, Jaehyun might accept the cool can of beer when he is offered one while he is busy talking with Doyoung about evil and wicked bosses. Always either of those two, in a workplace. There is seldom in betweens, and Doyoung professes about wanting to move up the career ladder just to cause problems with his imaginary future subordinates one day. Entertaining his drunken spiels, Jaehyun just nods and giggles.

(Hot, friend-material, _and_ funny? Consider Jaehyun sold.)

Throughout the whole night, he tries to not stare at Doyoung’s lips too much when he is talking. From the way Doyoung bites his bottom lip and licks it in between his endless story, future-Jaehyun may realise in retrospect how bad of an actor he is when not sober.

_If only he realises the consequences of his actions before he gets drunk._

* * *

Jaehyun wakes up to a searing pain in his head, and a sore body. He aches all over, and his back throbs. The first idea that springs into his mind is that he went to a round of paintball game, and lost horribly to a considerably worse in the skills department but equally competitive person (Renjun). But then he remembers giving someone— who?— a housewarming gift.

After some more grumbling, a flash of Jaemin’s blinding grin comes up in his mind. Ah. Yeah. So that paintball game was last month. Okay, and he also did not have dinner at his house alone, yesterday. Fine, whatever.

Yanking the soft pillow closer and plunging his face into it, Jaehyun grunts. He is on his return to the dreamland when the smell of fried rice wafts into his nose. Hm. Delicious. Must be nice to be having breakfast as soon as he wakes up without spending his time cooking it.

 _Wait._ _What??_

More awake than he has ever been in his twenty-nine years of life, Jaehyun springs up. His eyes dart around, wide and scared. The room is unfamiliar. Instantly, he peeps under the thick blanket. To his horror, there is not a single thread on his body. He is fully naked.

A quick scan around the room helps him find his clothes from last night. Boxers. Ripped jeans. Blue undershirt. While he is pulling on his T-shirt, a cough comes from the doorway. Like a deer caught in the headlights, he turns. Slowly. Think of something, an excuse to run away. Carefully. Maybe he can barrel his way out of the door? Take advantage of the element of surprise?

To his own surprise, however, Doyoung smiles at him from the doorway. His hair is messy, strands tousled and some of them sticking up. The leather jacket from yesterday is on the floor near his feet. This morning, he is dressed in a baby blue sweater and a pair of grey sweatpants. He seems to bask in all his domestic glory.

Or maybe that is Jaehyun's post-drinking mind talking.

Jaehyun blinks. “Uh,” he offers intelligently.

Doyoung keeps smiling. “Breakfast is ready,” he says. His voice is soft, almost like he is aware of the delicate air around them and therefore putting in efforts not to break it. For that few minutes in which the morning light filtering through the curtains shines on him, he looks like an angel.

“Breakfast,” Jaehyun repeats in a monotone. He scrambles his mind for any spare word— aside from the mortifying ‘beautiful angel’ his brain keeps whispering— he is sure that he should have some others, somewhere in a corner.

Doyoung’s smile stays. “Yep, breakfast!”

“Fried rice?” _is not what Jaehyun wants to ask, but does anyway._

“Yeah! Wow, you do have heightened senses in everything else too, huh?”

_“What do you mean?” is what he wants to ask, but thankfully does not._

“...”

Doyoung smiles some more, and probably (kindly) assumes that Jaehyun has not fully woken up yet. When Jaehyun does not indicate that he is going to reply anytime soon, he leaves the room after pointing out where the extra toothbrush is.

Jaehyun drags his feet into the connected bathroom, feeling all sorts of emotions. He does not even know where or what to start with.

Breakfast, unsurprisingly, is a calm affair. They do not talk much, aside from Doyoung guiding him to the chair at the start and later, to offer him seconds. Jaehyun swallows the last of his helpings and sneaks a glance around the house.

Last night, perhaps he was too out of it to notice, or he does but his foggy mind has wiped it out of collection, but Doyoung’s house offers a surprisingly lively account of his daily habit, for a bachelor. Framed paintings are in the room, too, parallel to the decoration of his bedroom and colour coordinated. There are small pots of plants— probably herbs? Rosemary? Jaehyun regrets not paying attention when his mom is lecturing him about her beloved step children— lining up the small cabinet in his living room, where next to them stands a scented diffuser. Here, from the kitchen, if he really tries, maybe he can smell it.

Jaehyun takes a deep breath. Peaches & flowers, he decides.

“What do you think?”

Jaehyun starts. Doyoung is looking at him, a faint smile ghosting his lips, but there is a hint of anticipation there in his eyes.

“Sorry, what?”

“My house. How do you find it? Some people don’t like how it looks.”

Jaehyun shifts in his seat. “Well, I think it looks nice.” His voice is still gruffly from overuse. He clears his throat, then adds for a better measure, being totally honest; “Some people should have better taste.”

Doyoung chuckles.

Jaehyun fiddles with the hem of his T-shirt. While he has never done this— _this_ being having a one night stand _and_ staying over for breakfast. He does not hate it, though. And that is the problem, isn’t it? He likes eating food cooked by others, and likes _Doyoung_ in general. It would be kind of a pity if they never meet again after today.

Humming under his breath, Doyoung gathers their used dishes onto the round tray.

“Say, Doyoung-hyung?”

“Hm?”

“Can you give me some advice on home decor?”

Doyoung blinks and tilts his head. “Sure?"

Jaehyun considers that puzzling reaction with a tentative jerk of his eyebrow.

"I mean, sure!” Apparently, Doyoung recovers fast. “Do you’ve pictures? Any idea or concepts?”

“No, no, hyung, I mean,” Jaehyun steels himself after a puff of breath, “like, later. Can I text you about it later?”

The dawn of realisation on Doyoung is a pretty sight. Wild scarlet flares on his cheeks while he avoids Jaehyun’s eyes. Licking his teeth, he stands up, the feet of his chair grating as he pushes it back.

“Um, of course, yeah! Give me a second— I'll be back!"

Jaehyun stares at him while he speeds walks into the kitchen with a tight grip on the tray. His neck looks suspiciously red.

Bringing up his hands, Jaehyun cups the sides of his face with both palms. He grins. His ears have never burned this hot before.

It does not take as long as he has guessed for soft footfall to echo from the kitchen.

"Give me your phone." Doyoung thrusts his hand forward.

Flashing his dimples, Jaehyun places his phone on Doyoung's palm. His fingertips tingle where they touch the warm skin. He cannot retract his hand quickly enough.

Eyes flickering away from Jaehyun's face, Doyoung raises the phone to his eye level. Keys in his number. Returns it with a small smile.

"Don't forget to text me," he says.

"About the houseplants?"

Doyoung glowers at him. The attempt just makes him look adorable.

Jaehyun wheezes, at both the obvious annoyance on Doyoung's end, and in mourning of how far gone he is. Truly exceptional. Either his heart is indeed racing in his chest, or his ears are making things up at this point. Though, he is almost certain he can hear the frantic thuds.

"I'm leaving now." He clutches his phone and stands up.

Doyoung follows him to the door in silence.

After putting on his shoes, Jaehyun pauses. He throws in a wink. "Don't worry, I'll send you a text."

Not waiting around to see Doyoung's reaction, he leaves for the elevator. He pushes the button for the ground floor. Once confirmed that no one can see him, he drops into a squat and stares at his reflection on the level indicator.

His ears are striking red. He can confirm now. He hears each thud of his heartbeats in them, louder and faster than normal.

Just as an empty elevator arrives from above, Jaehyun rushes in. He needs to compose himself. It would be bad if someone saw him like this. He looks like a creeper, with how wide his grin is.

Right when the elevator which Jaehyun is in closes shut, the one beside it dings and opens.

* * *

_"Now, now, why are you staring at the door like a lovesick fool?"_

_"What? No, what are you talking about— oomph!"_

_"Dad, I miss you!"_

_"Haha, look who is here— if it isn't my cutest daughter? Hmm? How much do you miss me? Just a half? Or at the fifth level?"_

_"I miss you at the tenth level!"_

_"Jeez, you both are so dramatic. I wonder what you inherited from me, hm? My daughter?"_

_"No, Mom, not a tickles attack!"_

_Giggles echo throughout the hallway from the corner lot, all the way to the empty elevators._

* * *

It is three a.m. when Jaehyun widens his eyes. If he looks into a mirror he might scare himself, so he won't. He has not (yet) texted Doyoung and it has been a week since— since _that_ day. In between work, brainstorming for school events, impromptu event management meetings and making sure his classes go well, he has not been getting enough sleep.

The mountain of exercise sheets on the desk stares back at him in disgust. What a mess, truly. Jaehyun heaves up from the floor and stretches his limbs. He might need a packet of ramen if he is getting through his fifth consecutive sleepless night.

* * *

Jaehyun lifts up the bowl of instant ramen towards his mouth, eyes fixated on the bright laptop screen. The heap of exercise sheets have been marked, clipped and put away safely in a file, tucked into his work bag. For all what he has done today, he deserves to break the rule of no after-midnight snacks.

Onscreen, after the protagonist sheaths his sword with a scream too loud for 2 a.m., an ugly, slimy demon springs up just as he has anticipated— but what he does not expect is for the bowl in his hand to tilt along with the protagonist’s body, and for the ramen soup to spill on his lap.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

The protagonist’s limbs hit the brick wall with a loud clang. The bowl in Jaehyun’s hand almost hit the table— no, his knee— he scrambles to place it down to safety— away from his laptop— and plucks out some tissues from a box on the coffee table. In the meantime, soup seeps into the thin material of his pajama pants. To his dismay, his hands meet nothing in the tissue box. It is empty.

Grumbling, he drags his feet to the kitchen. The wooden roll on the counter greets him blearily, none of the kitchen rolls he expects to see. Ah. Right. He used it up yesterday to clean up after cooking.

When he yanks open the cabinet, a speck of dust flies out and onto his face. He picks it off and throws it away. In the cabinet is… nothing. Not even a roll of the tissues he needs to wipe the old leather couch, which was a gift from his mom. If his mom comes over for a surprise visit, what would she say to a couch that smells like ramen and a house without tissue rolls?

Jaehyun sighs. Flicking the lightbulb switch off, he stalks into the bedroom and rummages his wardrobe. An old tracksuit, well-worn but still usable, would have to do. He changes out of his soaked pants quickly and grabs a folded shirt from the neat stack.

Making his way back to the living room, Jaehyun trudges towards the cursed couch and wipes the soup off it with the dry part of his pants. What a night, honestly.

After running the ramen-smelling pants under tap water and throwing them into a mix of detergent-water, he checks his phone— it's thirty minutes before three— and sighs again. He probably should pick up some tissue boxes before he forgets about it again tomorrow. He picks up his wallet and a hooded jacket.

Out of home, he goes.

* * *

The walk to the convenience store is silent, safe for the piano notes playing in his ears. Jaehyun zips up his jacket. Shoves his hands into the pockets as protection from the chill of night air. With no less than downright misery, he remembers that he was only halfway through his ramen before the tissue emergency happens.

He sighs again. There might be some other food options at the store, so not all hope is lost. It still tastes bitter, though, to spend his Sunday night so miserably like this.

It is _not_ lonely. Jaehyun likes being alone. He decides that he does not prefer whatever _this_ _night_ is though, amongst other options.

Through his cheap earbuds, he picks up the soft jingles of the store's bells from a distance away. Some footsteps, bouncy and excited followed by several, hurried and worried. High pitched giggles trails away from the store, not without a stern voice calling out after. A kid and her parents, probably. Jaehyun smiles.

 _Ah_. That's right. Forget his miserable night for a second. At least, tomorrow he will be meeting his kids again. He wonders if getting excited to work is a sign of how mellowed he is now. The small joys of life and all that jazz.

The convenience store looms before Jaehyun. With an inhale, he pulls the door open and walks in. Just a second after he reaches the fridge at the back of the store, the source of giggles from just now trails past the store front again.

_"Oh God, poor cat! Don’t wipe her fur on your pants— No, oh my god— it's almost your bedtime, we need to go!"_

* * *

Another day of work, another different thing to muse about.

Theoretically, Jaehyun knows who his children's guardians are. In general. The idea of them, at least. Just because he knows them does not mean he has no problem matching names with faces. The names and all that excessive details, they are all accessible in the files he keeps on his desk at the teacher's cubicle.

Realistically, though, it is kind of hard not to know about it when he spends half a day at the preschool _teaching_ them, and keeping them _entertained_ for the rest of the day until the evening when their parents come around after work.

Growing up, kids talk a lot about their family. Especially when they have exhausted all the other topics. Case in point, right now, at 3 p.m.

Inhaling all the traces of patience he could get from the air, Jaehyun tries to keep his cool.

"Minyoung," he says. "You can tell Junhwi about what your dad's job was tomorrow during school break, so let's all take a nap for now, okay?"

"But my dad’s job _is_ complicated, so I want to tell Junhwi now!"

 _Huh._ Jaehyun has always assumed that Kim Sooyoung is a single parent. That, and her husband has either passed away or just not in the picture. In Minyoung’s file, the only details of her guardian are of her mother. He likes her mother, to be more specific. Always on time, easy to speak to, and does not ask intrusive questions about his love life _(no, Junhwi’s grandma, I’m not dating anyone yet)._ She respects his personal life, so Jaehyun always makes sure not to overstep any boundaries or ask about her partner.

Minyoung pouts at him. _Oh no._ Not the puppy eyes. Not those. Jaehyun shakes his head, but the force behind it is weak. His resolve is steadfastly crumbling.

To make things worse, Junhwi is nodding eagerly right next to her. His eyelids are droopy, and he looks like he's about to drop face-first into his pillow— asleep, anytime from now. Still, he presses his elbows apart into the mattress he shares with several other boys, and leans up to muster a determined look at Jaehyun.

"That's right, Teach. I want to—" he quickly hides a yawn under a palm— "listen about her dad’s job _right now._ "

If the children don't take a nap like they usually do around this time, they would become groggy and snarky by the time they're supposed to go home. Jaehyun wants to cry. _He_ is tired.

All he wants is to go home early and enjoy binge watching a show on Netflix mindlessly. Anything but separating kids from a fight before going home. Anything but that. He takes in a deep breath. He can do this, he’s Jung Jaehyun.

"Alright, how about this? I'll grant you two five more minutes of talking, _not_ more, then you two can continue _after_ napping, before you go home."

Minyoung pouts. Before she could protest, Jaehyun leans forward, careful so that his voice does not carry over to the other kids, and says; "If you do that, I'll give two of you an extra cracker each when you wake up. This is a secret, though. Only between us three."

Junhwi's eyes light up. "Today's snack is corn crackers? And tea with sugar?"

Jaehyun nods.

While Junhwi looks over at Minyoung and gives her a hopeful look, Jaehyun smiles. He already knows who is winning this battle of getting children to sleep.

Reluctantly, Minyoung nods. "You've to promise us an extra each," she whispers to Jaehyun with all the seriousness of an adventurer on a quest, like both their life and death depend on this. It might as well be.

Jaehyun grins. "I promise."

* * *

Renjun is sitting on a plastic chair in the kitchenette when Jaehyun steps out of the room to take a breather. On the counter, a kettle is plugged in and switched on. As Jaehyun closes the door, Yuna's faint snores filter out.

"Bathroom break?" Renjun lifts his eyes from the phone screen for a brief second to send Jaehyun a small smile.

"Yeah." Jaehyun nods, but lingers in the kitchen.

With a soft click, Renjun locks his phone and puts it away by a jar of cocoa powder. He leans back against the chair. "Spill," he says.

"Spill what?"

"You've something to say, don't you? Spill it."

Jaehyun sighs. Throws a glance at the kids inside the backroom. When none of them move an inch, he turns his focus on Renjun.

"Do you know that Minyoung's dad works at the National Institute of Accountants?"

Renjun's eyebrow spikes up. "Kim Minyoung? Really?"

"She tells Junhwi so."

"Wow. Her dad's probably a professional. And rich."

Jaehyun shrugs. It's not like having a kid who comes from a professional, wealthy family affects his income or his work directly.

Renjun taps the counter. Stares at him like contemplating something.

"Spill, right away." Jaehyun points at him.

Renjun grins. He really should have seen it coming. Jaehyun is a fast learner, after all.

"Are you worrying about the Sports Day meeting already? That's like, months away. What, scared the rich kid under your care might get hurt?"

Jaehyun snorts. As if. Though he has only known Renjun for less than a year, they talked about this a lot. Both of them are not the type of a teacher who treats kids differently based on their background.

"No, more like," he mulls on it a little, wondering if it's something he should even worry about, "the teacher-parents meeting next week."

Renjun's mouth falls open like the letter O, something akin to understanding flashing across his face.

"Is she doing bad in Math?"

Jaehyun shrugs. "Not the worst in the whole class, but barely a pass. Overall, her grades are exceptional except for Math. Do you think her dad might be angry?"

Renjun starts to say something but the kettle clicks at the beginning of his sentence. It begins to let out wafts of steam. He leaps onto his feet. Makes a quick work of checking the boiling water and grabbing a clean jug from the dish rack. After he has safely poured the water into the jug, he gazes over his shoulder to see Jaehyun still waiting.

Smiling, Renjun turns around and pulls the tea jar towards him. "The fact that you worry about this tells me that you care about your kids a lot, don't you?"

Despite everything, Jaehyun finds himself blushing a bit.

"It's what every teacher does, isn't it?"

"Maybe." Renjun swivels and scrutinises the row of jars on the counter. After a second, he picks the one labelled as sugar.

"Personally, I think you might be overthinking it."

Jaehyun grunts. He comes for advice from a fellow young educator, not for a personal slander.

"No, listen first."

Even without looking at him, Jaehyun could tell that Renjun is holding back a laugh. He glares pointedly, though the intimidating effect only bounces off his unassuming back.

"All you know of this kid's dad is from her stories. Have you considered; he might not be as terrifying as you think? Maybe he is a cool dad. Oh, or is there something else I should know?"

Jaehyun sighs. Of course Renjun would say that. He has not heard of how Minyoung's dad chased off a scary stray dog, or that his coworkers all bowed at him (and extensively, at a six-years-old child) when said child came with, for an office family day. He has not seen Minyoung's trembling fist when she had to stand up and read her answer for a basic addition question. Jaehyun’s fear is logical. He has reasons, and he knows them well.

Granted, Renjun is not Minyoung's homeroom teacher. _Jaehyun_ is, and he also walks past the classroom several times a morning just to sneak a peek at how his children are doing in class.

...Anyway. Point is, Renjun does _not_ know what _Jaehyun_ does, so his advice is not helpful.

"Maybe, yes," Jaehyun says at last. He does not explain which statement he is agreeing to before heading to the bathroom quietly.

Neither of them brings up the topic again.

* * *

Although Renjun does not know as much as Jaehyun does about _his_ kids, he does have some points. Valid ones. Sometimes. (Don’t let him hear that.)

The parents-teacher meeting goes smoothly for the most part. The students' parents are respectful. They seem to care about their kids a lot, and ask all the right questions when Jaehyun points out his students' strength and weakness. The students themselves are polite whenever other's parents make small talk with them. No one hurts themselves by tripping over invisible dust, or knocking over the picture books arranged neatly on the shelves, or starting a quarrel.

The little part, however, comes at the end. Jaehyun was arranging his pens based on their status _(running out of ink, still can be used, new)_ in a cylindrical container when the last parent arrives. Minyoung’s, to be exact. He is surprised that Mrs Kim is arriving so late today. Usually, she would be the earliest five— if not _the first_ parent to any event. Not that it’s that late. He might be able to wrap all meetings by lunch period today.

When there is a knock, Minyoung lifts her head up and bounces towards the door with a cheer. Jaehyun glances up with a wide smile, half-expecting Minyoung's elegant mother out of habit, and has to blink. He needs to make sure that he is not hallucinating.

At the door, leaning down while patting Minyoung's head, is a guy dressed in a black buttoned up jumper over a beige collared shirt. His black hair is styled up and slicked back. Although earnestly still bewildered, Jaehyun bows and welcomes him in, gesturing towards the wooden chair placed by his desk.

Upon noticing him, the man stalls. He widens his eyes at Jaehyun’s nametag. Before Jaehyun can dwell on the odd flash of surprise on the man’s face, however, his face clears up. With a tentative smile, he takes the seat.

Jaehyun sits down on his own chair behind the desk and tries not to fidget under the intense stare.

For another minute of silence, they stare at each other, with Jaehyun growing more and more confused as each second ticks on without so much as a blink from this man, who looks strangely familiar. For some reason, Jaehyun keeps drawing a blank when he tries to placate where they met, if ever, before. Is his mind playing games with him now?

A soft giggle breaks them out of the tense atmosphere.

"Dad, are you playing dead with Teacher Jaehyun?" Minyoung grins and pokes the man at his side, curious finger digging into his baby blue sweater.

Oh. So Minyoung’s mother really has a partner now.

Minyoung's father starts— like he has somehow forgotten that he is in a class for his daughter's kindergarten's parents-teacher meeting. Clearing his throat, he turns to Minyoung. His daughter beams up at him, more so when he pats her cheeks affectionately.

"Sorry, Minyoung-ah," he says in a soft voice. Surprisingly, it sounds familiar. Jaehyun feels the bubbling frustration surfaces again. _Why, where and when did he meet this guy before?_

Turning towards Jaehyun, Minyoung's father pushes his glasses up his nose bridge and gives out a small smile.

"Sorry Teacher, Minyoung’s mom can’t make it today because she has an important meeting." After a beat, he thrusts his hands out, polished nails glinting under the sunlight. "Let me introduce myself formally. I'm Kim Doyoung, Minyoung's dad."

Kim Doyoung _._ The name yanks a dramatic curtain pull in Jaehyun's foggy mind.

Jaemin's housewarming party. Being abandoned by Renjun halfway into the party. A late guest, hair styled and leather jacket. Listening in to conversations. New acquaintances.

Chugging beers into an empty stomach. Intense stares from a pair of deep brown eyes. Kisses at the stairs. Heated making out sessions. A stranger's house, empty and dimly lit. Whines in the dark. Leaving in the morning, right after breakfast.

At the abrupt end of a flash of his memories, Jaehyun's eyes bulge threateningly out of their sockets.

 _That_ Doyoung is a _**dad**_???

(Maybe Renjun is right for _most_ of those sometimes. He really underestimated who Minyoung’s father could be.)

* * *

Jaehyun must have been staring for far too long. Doyoung tries for a smile, although it looks more like an awkward grimace, and makes to retract his hands.

"Sorry, uh—"

—Jaehyun leans forward and grabs his right hand. "No, sorry! I'm sorry. It's nice to— to formally meet you, Minyoung's dad."

He shakes their hands firmly. In the grip of Jaehyun's warm hand, Doyoung's slender fingers are cold— not clammy, more likely that he just got out of a car which blasts air conditioning at the lowest temperature.

Willing the warning flush to not stain his cheeks red, Jaehyun pulls his hand away first. Because his life is a joke and he likes making himself suffer, he also knocks his pen container off the desk with an elbow.

The sound of the pens scattering all over the floor echo around the classroom.

The container thankfully rolls near Jaehyun's feet, so he takes the chance to duck under the desk and hide his face, under the pretense of gathering his pens. Judging from the small inquisitive noise coming from Minyoung, he must have looked visibly flustered. From where he is picking up cluttered pens, he can hear Doyoung telling Minyoung to play with her friends for a while.

After retrieving all of his pens, Jaehyun takes some more time to find Minyoung's diary from the neat stack on his desk. It is supposed to be easy, finding hers. The cover is pink, and a hand-drawn smiling unicorn decorates the messy scribbles of her name, under which a clean ferrero rocher wrapper is glued. If Minyoung is still sitting here, she would light up and point out the small but significant decorations setting her diary apart from his other students. Jaehyun bets her eyes would sparkle the way they always do, except this time they would be directed to the very person who passed the traits, perhaps in anticipation for praise.

“I’m really sorry for, uh, that,” Jaehyun starts after taking a deep breath. “I didn’t know— I was expecting Minyoung’s mother.” It is not entirely a lie.

Doyoung shrugs. “Happens sometimes, I guess. Should we settle down first?”

“Oh, yes! Please, let’s. I didn’t have any information about you in Minyoung’s files, though, so—” Jaehyun rummages his drawer and pulls out a form out of it— “please fill in this first.”

Doyoung scans the form and pulls out a blue pen out of his chest pocket.

Jaehyun glances around the classroom to make sure his students are behaving well, and discreetly steals a look at the form when he is sure Doyoung is engrossed in writing out the rest of his personal details.

Name: Kim Doyoung. Then, a few rows down, relationship with student: Father.

As if the word burns his eyes, Jaehyun looks away the moment he sees it. A lump forms in his throat. _No way._ This can’t seriously be happening.

Doyoung hands in the form once he is done. Jaehyun takes it, gives it a once-over, reads the relationship part again just to make sure, and tries to swallow down the lump in his throat. It does not go away.

He clears his throat. "About Minyoung." He taps her diary cover. "She is a bright kid and a good class president."

With a proud smile, Doyoung nods. His eyes are fixated on the diary.

On that cue, Jaehyun slides it towards him, which Doyoung takes with grace and starts reading the notes written in it silently, his eyes twinkling with fondness.

Jaehyun allows himself to smile a bit. He eases himself from the memory of _that_ night and slips into his professional mode. That's right. At this moment, they are not more than a teacher and one of the kids' parents.

"She is also a bit talkative, but not too much. It's great, because that way, she helps her classmates a lot."

A chuckle jumps out of Doyoung's mouth. "Yeah, she inherits a lot of traits from me."

Jaehyun barely catches the professional smile from dropping off his face.

_"You talk too much."_

_A breathy chuckle leaps out of swollen lips before Jaehyun could swallow it into a searing kiss._

_"Just curious about how I luck out with someone who looks as hot as you—"_

_—Impatient for more, Jaehyun presses forward. He takes delight in the delicious moan tumbling out of that same pair of lips. "Keep that talkative mouth quiet and watch me," he orders._

>>>

For an unfathomable reason, swallowing continuously proves to be difficult. Jaehyun manages anyway, and strains to keep his smile on.

"Yeah, must have. Genes." He clears his throat. "When it's storytime, Minyoung anticipates a lot. When it's playtime, she plays around a lot."

Doyoung smiles and nods, dainty fingers distractingly flipping the pages of his daughter's diary. Jaehyun knows the things that have been written there— hell, he is the one who wrote a lot of them as her homeroom teacher, but he wishes he can have Doyoung's eyes on him again.

What a weird thought. He pinches his thigh. His pain nerve flares, enough to make tears spring up his eyes. He grimaces.

"Before I forget, just as stated in the schedule which the school gave out along with the students' handbook early this year, the Sports Day is coming soon. It would be okay, right, for Minyoung to participate?"

Nodding, Doyoung closes the diary. "Of course! Minyoung doesn't have any allergy or illness, so if she wants to join, then I hope you can help her out." After a beat, he laughs. "I might not be the most sport-y father out there, but hopefully my daughter fares better."

Jaehyun's breath catches in his throat. This time, the smile is completely wiped clean from his face.

_"Is this a regular occurence?" Jaehyun's question pierces the silence._

_Panting, Doyoung leans against the handrail. "If you're asking about the elevators breaking down regularly, then yes. As soon as I get promoted and the lease term is over, I'm gonna move away from this darned place."_

_Jaehyun must have been more drunk than he realised, because as a response to this unexpected knowledge of trivia, he pulls Doyoung in by his collar and clumsily presses a fleeting kiss at the corner of his mouth. When he pulls away, Doyoung is smiling. Bright._

_"What was that for?"_

_Jaehyun shrugs. He is sure that the tips of his ears are red, but the stairway is badly lit and none of them are completely sober, anyway._

_"Just. You look sexy."_

_Doyoung laughs, the sound tickling Jaehyun's earlobes. He has a really nice laugh._

_"Me, sweating because my stamina is deteriorating, is sexy to you? Your taste is weird." Groaning, Doyoung stops at the bottom of the stairs and rests his hands on his knees. “Sorry hot stranger, we’ve to climb up eight levels just to get to my house.”_

_Jaehyun pouts. God. He never pouts, not even to his mom. "Is that also a regular occurrence?"_

_Doyoung tilts his head. "What do you mean?"_

_"Bringing strangers home." Disgruntled is obvious in his tone, even to a stranger’s ears._

_(Jaehyun. Does. Not. Pout.)_

_The smile on Doyoung's face turns lopsided, all loose and carefree. "Aw, are you jealous?" His expression switches to one that is more serious for a second, forcing Jaehyun to sober up a bit._

_"Me bringing a man home... no, not regularly. Most of the times I work, and some other times I’ve had some priorities to take care of, but today is an exception."_

_Admittedly, Jaehyun's curiosity is tickled at what that implies. A premise of a secret. Doyoung does not have to answer him. He does not owe him anything, except for a good night that he promised when they are leaving Jaemin’s house together. They are just a couple of strangers, after all, saved for perhaps two mutual friends, so he does not prod about it. Instead, he giggles. He fucking giggles like— like he is in high school all over again, talking to the tall basketball girls’ team captain— or, or back in university, when he used to sidle up to the sweet library assistant during his lunch hour._

_Right when Doyoung gets infected by his unstoppable giggling virus, Jaehyun reaches down and taps his nose. He presents a dumb grin as soon as Doyoung looks up with a protest._

_"You know, if you want today to be an amazing exception, we should walk faster."_

>>>

Jaehyun's face reddens.

Doyoung does a double take in the middle of laughing about his lack of athletic talent. He stops abruptly. "Teacher Jung? Are you okay?"

That only serves to remind Jaehyun of how absurd this whole situation is.

Does it make sense? He knows that life works in the strangest way possible. How is it that the first time in a while when he decided to let loose and have some fun, is the exact moment he messes up? Figures that out of all the guests invited to the party, he had to be introduced to and seduced his _student's_ father to go home with.

 _Wait_.

Doyoung waves his hand in front of Jaehyun's face, forcing him out of his messy train of thoughts by surprise.

"Teacher, are you alright? One second you look like you've a fever, but now you're sickly pale."

Flinching back from the hovering palm near him, Jaehyun grips the edge of his desk for grounding. _What has he done?_

"I—" He gulps. His throat is sandpaper.

"I'm fine." (He's not.)

Doyoung leans back in his seat. He gives Jaehyun a few more cursory glances, like he cannot take his words at surface value, but keeps his lips zipped out of something. Jaehyun desperately wants to believe it is out of respect.

Frowning down at the forms on his desk, Jaehyun hesitates. He could apologise, or he could ask Doyoung to explain himself, or better yet explain _himself;_ that he would not have sidled up to him that night if he had known; and he would not repeat the same mistake. He glances up.

“Does Minyoung’s mother know—”

—As if on cue, the young girl’s cheerful voice cuts him off, all the way from the reading corner at the back of the classroom, the sound ringing clear and holding him by the throat.

“Sports Day. I mean, she hasn’t sent in her permission form for Sports Day yet,” he blurts out instead.

_Which is the furthest thing from what he was going to say._

“Oh! When is the due date, Teacher?” Doyoung does not do as much as blink at his blunder, blissfully ignorant of the inner turmoil that Jaehyun is having.

Jaehyun frowns. Just like that? A mention of his wife does not even deter the bright smile plastered on Doyoung’s face. He shakes his head. He needs to pretend to have it together. Pretends like all of this is not making him panic. Holds onto his faux confidence.

“Next week,” he replies curtly.

“That wouldn’t be a problem! I’ll let her know.”

“Right.” Jaehyun clears his throat. He busies himself with the file before him and flips through the multiple records, copies of official documents, and— ah.

“This is a comprehensive analysis of Minyoung’s grades so far,” he says.

Doyoung lets out a small inquisitive noise and takes the report card offered by Jaehyun. He skims through the numbers, nodding to himself all the time. “She’s doing well, isn’t she?” he asks.

Jaehyun blinks. Nods. “Um, yes.” He contemplates mentioning her mathematics grade.

“Is there anything else I need to know? She told me she enjoys every class. Anything I can do to help her learning development?”

Does he really not care about Minyoung’s mathematics grade? The curiosity burns down Jaehyun’s throat. He lets out a choked breath. “Is it true?”

“What is, Teacher?”

“That you work at the National Institute of Accountants?” _(...Nice save.)_

Doyoung laughs. “Did she tell the class that? Oh, I wish it’s true!”

Jaehyun presses his lips into a tight line.

Doyoung stops laughing. “My current work, ah,” he rubs his nape, “it’s a bit complicated, but it involves the Institute of Research and Understanding. To put it simply, I’m a researcher,” he says.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. _Oh,_ right? It’s hard to explain that to my interviewer, let alone a five-years-old.” Doyoung’s face turns somber. “I’m hoping for a position at the nearby university, although being a lecturer doesn’t sound so—”

“ _—Ah_ , sorry! What am I doing, telling _you_ all this?” Doyoung lets out a chuckle and avoids eye contact. His cheeks are prettily coloured pink.

Jaehyun shakes his head. Really, out of all the adjectives available in the dictionary, his brain has to think of _pretty?_

“It’s okay, I don’t mind,” Jaehyun insists. He really is. He is willing to listen about Doyoung’s job although he probably has no clue what being a researcher entails. He shakes his head again. He needs to stop these intrusive thoughts about the father of one of his students. Who is also disturbingly attractive. And married, his brain reminds himself.

The tang of bitter guilt rises in his throat and stays there throughout the meeting.

Reading over the report again, Doyoung hums. “Did you ask about my work because of her math grade?”

Whoops. Caught in action. Jaehyun grins and nods.

Doyoung looks around the class for his daughter and matches her smile when they meet eyes. Minyoung waves the toy train in her hand— to which Junhwi protests with something along the lines of _hey, The Prince is gonna fall!_

“Is she doing a lot worse than other kids in Math? Does she show discomfort in class?”

Jaehyun considers the question.

“Sometimes, she shakes when she has to stand up and read her answer for basic questions. I don’t think it’s attention-fright though. She volunteers a lot during P.E. and Teacher Seo told me she literally jumps up to answer in English.”

Doyoung chuckles. “That is Minyoung for you.”

“I never realised she does not like Math, though.” He purses his lips in consideration.

Jaehyun offers an understanding smile. He has seen that face before, when other parents heard about their children acting differently from they usually are at home. Or when they discovered new things which they never considered about their beloved child before. It is one of the beauties of this work, he thinks. That he can offer his insight to parents to help their children.

Scratching his neck, Doyoung leafs through Minyoung’s diary with eyes that do not really see. He frowns when he reaches the end before flipping it over one last time. A moment of silence settles between them.

“I don’t know what to do,” he admits out loud.

Jaehyun blinks. Okay, he does not expect that. “About Minyoung?”

“Yeah.”

“Honestly?”

Doyoung nods. The smile on his face does not reach his eyes. He drums his fingers against the diary hardcover. “I mean, I think I’m doing good so far. But whenever I ask her if she has problems at school, she says no. And now, this.”

Jaehyun gapes.

“What do you think I should do to be a better dad?”

 _Oh, wow, okay._ Jaehyun gulps.

“I think you should ask her about it, and ask her how you can help. I mean, I can ask if it doesn’t work, but you’re her father. The one who raises her up.”

“Ha.” Doyoung stares blankly at the desk. “Right. I’m supposed to, don’t I?”

Jaehyun furrows his brows. _What is that supposed to mean?_

Doyoung sits up. His face clears the blank, helpless expression off to make way for one of concentration. “You’re right, Teacher Jaehyun,” he says.

Jaehyun can almost see a flock of question marks floating about his head. He has never been more puzzled in his whole career as a kindergarten teacher. There are difficult exam questions for six years-old, and then there is whatever it is he is right about, as claimed by Doyoung.

Doyoung returns Minyoung’s diary to Jaehyun, but clutches her report card tightly. “Is there anything else I should know? Any other event you might need parents’ permission for?”

Snapping out of his confusion, Jaehyun shakes his head. “No.”

Doyoung nods. He stands up, and Jaehyun’s brain starts screaming a jumble of sentences all at the same time. Among others, he can make out a head-splitting _‘an attractive person is leaving out of your sight_ ’ and the blaring red conscience’s screech of _‘he’s your student’s parent, you idiot’_.

And then he shuts out all internal voices.

When Minyoung sees them both standing, she scrambles out of the play jungle they set up at the back of the classroom.

“Daddy!” She clings onto Doyoung’s leg. “Are you leaving already?”

Doyoung leans down to tuck a stray strand of her hair behind her ears. “Yeah, sweetie.”

Minyoung pouts. “For work?”

“I’m sorry,” he drops a kiss on her temple, “but yes. We’ll meet again later, okay?”

Something tells Jaehyun that the conversation is not something he has the right to pry into, so he looks away and scrutinises the speck of blue on the wall at his waist level. Is that crayon or paint? He has never seen a paw-shaped stain on there before.

After another hug and a goodbye kiss, Minyoung finally lets go of Doyoung. She scampers to where the other kids are assigning roles for a new game. Seeing her off with a small smile, he turns to Jaehyun, and bows. “Thank you, Teacher Jaehyun.”

Jaehyun tears his eyes away from the blue stain on the wall and bows. “Thank you for coming,” he hesitates for a split second, but decides that he has nothing to lose, “and it’s nice to meet you again.”

A strange look passes across Doyoung’s face when he hears the admission. He tilts his head to a side, accompanied by a smile that captures the morning sunlight just right. Exactly like that, Jaehyun is again in awe at how handsome Doyoung is.

“I thought you don’t want to meet me again,” Doyoung says, cutting short Jaehyun’s daydream.

Jaehyun blinks. “What?”

“I didn’t get any text.”

_Oh._

“I—” Jaehyun stops himself as his students break into a round of laughter; Minyoung’s giggles are the loudest. He is not Jung Jaehyun if he succeeds in silencing his conscience, huh?

“And I didn’t know you’re a father, but I know now,” he says.

Hurt flashes across Doyoung’s face. He stares at Jaehyun for a moment, as if searching for something. “So that’s it?” He finally breaks the tension with a curt response.

Jaehyun stares back. “What do you mean?”

“You don’t want to keep in contact because I’ve a child?”

Anger seeps out of Jaehyun's barriers before he can control himself. “Your child is **my** _student_.”

_(And you’re married, so don’t you see that you’re gonna hurt your sweet wife and daughter?)_

Shaking his head, Doyoung steps out of the classroom. “I see,” he says smoothly. “so you’re one of those people.”

The absurdity of the situation leaves Jaehyun lightheaded. He clenches his fist and moves to go after him, but the door to the classroom next to his creaks open.

Johnny steps out, and then does a double take at Jaehyun’s face. Who knows what expression he is having. “Teacher Jaehyun? Is there anything wrong?”

Inhaling deeply, Jaehyun shakes his head. “No.” He musters up a convincing smile and barely catches himself watching while Doyoung turns round the corner. He closes his eyes and breathes out. He cannot think about this. Not right now, anyway. It won’t end well.

He walks back into the classroom.

* * *

Renjun does not even bother to look at Jaehyun when he barges into the teacher's room and slaps a heavy hand onto his desk. From it, a couple glitter pens suffer a wild spin in a cup. Jaehyun waits until the pens stop spinning before clearing his throat.

" _Renjun_ ," he grits under his breath. From the other side of the cubicles, Johnny throws him a cautious glance, which he replies with a look that hopefully conveys his apologies _and_ exasperation.

Clipping some papers together with a loud click, Renjun places them neatly into a yellow file. 'Parents-Teacher Meeting', the black Sharpie label at the front reads.

"Yes, Jaehyun-hyung?" Renjun finally looks up to address him.

Jaehyun glances around the room. Several other teachers who also stay around to finish their reports turn away in lieu of meeting his eyes and pretend like they have not been gawking— as if Jaehyun did not just catch them. With a heavy sigh, he points at the bench in the garden outside.

"I need to tell you something." At the look of Renjun's teasing smirk, he huffs and stalks out of the room first. "Come on!"

* * *

"So," Renjun singsongs. He is vibrating with excitement like Christmas has come early, which, knowing what Jaehyun is going to tell him, might as well have been the same thing.

"What do you have to tell me?"

"Promise you wouldn't laugh first."

 _"Oh…?"_ That smirk? A _devil_. Maybe Jaehyun should think this through. Is he really telling the story to this guy? Would this be a mistake?

"—hyung? What is wrong, Jaehyun hyung?" Unlike a few minutes ago, this time Renjun's voice is not tilted teasingly. A deep furrow of his forehead forces his eyebrows to meet while he stares on.

Jaehyun smooths out his own facial expression. It's fine. He's probably going to be fine.

"Did you know? Back at Jaemin's house?"

Renjun tilts his head. "About what?"

"Doyoung." Jaehyun takes a deep breath. "Do you know who he is?"

Confusion flashes across Renjun's face, followed by a sliver of recognition. His half smirk, most likely ready to tease Jaehyun, changes to something dark— something unrecognisable. His hands, when they land on Jaehyun's bicep, form a tight grip. It almost hurts.

"I was introduced to Doyoung hyung by Jeno. He works as a researcher, that's all I know. Why?"

Jaehyun exhales slowly. Good. So Renjun is unaware. He has not been set up for a prank or anything like that.

(Which only means he brought this upon himself.)

He pales.

"Hyung, what's going on?" Renjun holds Jaehyun's arms tighter, like he might fall over backwards and collapse any time. That does not seem to be too far a stretch right now.

"He's—" Jaehyun takes another deep breath— "Kim Doyoung, he's Kim Minyoung's father."

An ear-splitting scream comes from somewhere behind them. Renjun jumps off the bench. His hold tightens around Jaehyun.

"Ow, ow! Hey—"

—"Oh, sorry! Sorry, hyung! Woah, I was really surprised," Renjun lets go. Jaehyun immediately stands up to find the source of the explosion.

From the corner of their eyes, a man in a yellow uniform hurries away from the equipment storage building. A cleaner.

Renjun quickly jogs over while Jaehyun tails him.

"Mr Lee, do you know what is happening over there?"

The young cleaner halts. Offers an acknowledging smile when he recognises both of the teachers. "Mrs Yang fell while cleaning up Storage Room 1." He waves in the general direction of the storage rooms building.

"She's not bleeding, thankfully, but can't move her legs. Her phone is with Teacher Seo to recharge earlier this noon, so I left to retrieve her son's number. She's with Miss Kim right now."

Renjun exchanges looks with Jaehyun. He nods silently. Their conversation can wait.

"Can we help? I can call the hospital if you haven't already," Jaehyun says, already fishing his handphone out of his pocket.

"Sure! And oh, Miss Kim has called the hospital, but they're on their way still!"

Renjun gestures towards the teachers' lounge. "Should we, then?"

They part like that, Jaehyun walking to the storage room while Renjun and Mr Lee go on their way to the teachers' office.

He reaches Storage Room #1 quite fast and pulls open the door that is taped with a printed label.

"Mrs Yang?" He calls out.

Past the boxes of shiny, clean plastic balls, two figures are on the floor. Jaehyun hurries in, careful of his steps.

Miss Park, the other young cleaner lights up in recognition at the sight of him. "Teacher Jung!"

"Park Seungyoon-ssi. How long is it going to take for the ambulance to arrive?"

"Around three more minutes, I think."

Jaehyun nods. He sits down at Mrs Yang's left and carefully takes her hand. "Ahjumma, can I do anything to make you feel better?"

Mrs Yang chuckles, her voice hearty and light notwithstanding the wisdom wrinkles dotting her skin. "Ah, you're just like my son and these kids, always worrying about this old hag. I'm alright. Only my feet cannot move, but otherwise I'm just as fine as I’ve been in these last eighty years!"

Jaehyun smiles. "I'm glad to hear that."

Miss Park, who looks like she couldn't be that much older than Jaehyun, does not share the sentiment. She tsks and pats the back of Mrs Yang's right hand gently.

"Ahjumma, see? This is why I told you, you should just sit at home and boss your son around. What use is much money when you're this old?"

Mrs Yang glares at her. "Nonsense!"

Miss Park shakes her head.

"What good comes around from bossing my precious son around when he has work to provide for his family?" Mrs Yang clicks her tongue in disbelief. "This old woman would rather pass away, way before I burden my own son!"

It seems like they have had this conversation many times over, going by the way Miss Park sends a pointed look at Jaehyun. He gives a small smile in return. It is not his place to say anything. Although, he does make a mental note to come around his mom's soon this week. Check over her. She is always going around her neighbourhood, sometimes she even forgets her hospital appointments.

Facing Jaehyun now, Mrs Yang squints at him. "Say, Teacher Jung, do you have a girlfriend?"

"No, I don't," he says.

"What about a boyfriend?"

Jaehyun sees a flash of _that_ night behind his eyelids when he blinks, and the horror of the absurdity of such reactions from his traitorous mind is too much that he squeezes Mrs Yang's hand to suppress them.

She yelps in pain.

"I'm sorry!" Jaehyun sputters and yanks his hand away. Even without a mirror, he can sense that his ears are hot at the tips.

Miss Park is grinning when he meets her eyes coincidentally, so he averts his eyes and tries to brush the previous question off with a shaky; "And no, I don't have a— a boyfriend, either. None, uh, neither."

Mrs Yang clicks her tongue in a reprimand. Somehow, she reminds Jaehyun of his English teacher back in preschool. She was always with good intentions but too blunt for her student's cloy attempts of lies.

"What's with your reaction? There is _nothing_ wrong with a guy having a boyfriend!"

Jaehyun attempts to nod. As enthusiastic as he can. From the way Miss Park is hiding a laughter behind her palm, he is probably not as successful as he would like to be.

"Of course!" Jaehyun tries to salvage his, uh, reputation. "I don't think it's bad at all!"

"Yeah," Miss Kim says as an offering of help. "My brother-in-law is gay too. Thankfully, his ex-wife doesn't resent him and as such, after divorce, they stay in a good relationship. My in-laws were livid about it, though. They only allowed him to come to our family event because they wanted to see their granddaughter. Better than nothing, I guess."

Jaehyun flushes harder. His whole face is aflame. "Um, yeah, thank god for that. i guess."

Why is this conversation harder than the ones he is used to having with his mother's?

“That’s good,” he decides to add, because the silence that follows is stifling. It is too much.

“And I’m— I’m bisexual,” he gulps, “if that matters, somehow. Haha.”

The faint gasp coming from Mrs Yang is far from condescending. She grasps Jaehyun’s hands in hers, the warmth seeping from those wobbly age-spotted fingers a stark contrast to Jaehyun’s clammy hands.

“Of course it matters!” She insists. “Folks should accept whoever their children are in love with. Why does gender and sexuality matter? We’re all people who die at the end, are we not?”

Jaehyun nods. He is touched. Almost _cry_ even, but then, three consecutive knocks on the door which has been left ajar resonate in the room.

“Mrs Yang?” Renjun pushes the door. He walks in and meets her eyes. "Oh, thank god."

Waving his concern off good-naturedly, she confirms her condition. "I'm alright, Teacher Renjun. Gosh, you're just as bad as these kids. I've a bad knee, is all."

Three emergency workers come into view behind Renjun and rush to Mrs Yang’s side. To give them some space to check over her legs, Jaehyun scoots backwards. His hands slip out of her hold, and the mix of relief and sadness coming over him is almost overwhelming.

Renjun gestures outwards and walks away first.

In his absence, Mr Lee hurries inside to offer his assistance. When his eyes meet Jaehyun's over Mrs Yang's shoulder, Mr Lee gives him a soft smile. "We can take over from here. Mrs Yang's son is also on his way to the hospital."

Above the indignant protest from Mrs Yang which sounds an awful lot like _'There's no need”,_ ' and _'Don't want to burden my boy'_ , Mrs Kim waves towards the general direction of the door.

"Feel free to take your leave anytime, Teacher Jung," she smiles, "and thank you for your help."

Resigned to this change of plan, Jaehyun nods and follows after Renjun with a sigh. He does have a conversation to finish, afterall.

* * *

“So, hyung,” Renjun starts off once they are back at the bench in the garden.

Jaehyun crosses his arms over his chest.

“The guy you spent the night with, against all other possibilities, is a student’s father.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure they’re biologically related?”

“They look exactly the same when they smile.”

Renjun pauses. Gives him the side-eye. Looks away when Jaehyun narrows his eyes at him.

“And now you think you did a bad thing because you slept with someone who is married?”

“I don’t _think._ I _know_ that I did a bad thing.” Jaehyun rubs his face. “We’re _teachers_ , Renjun.”

Renjun arches an eyebrow. “So? Teachers make mistakes too, we’re not perfect.”

Sighing, Jaehyun rests his back against the cool wooden bench. Renjun joins him soon after, and they both stare at the evening sky in silence. There is an aeroplane in the sky, looking tiny from this distance. Jaehyun lets out another sigh. He wonders, what type of mistakes do people in that aeroplane do?

“I want to get over my stupid crush on him,” he says, breaking the silence.

“To be honest.” Renjun pressed his lips into a firm line. “I believe you can do it. And,”

Jaehyun turns towards him, expectant of what else he has to say.

“it’s not your fault you slept with a cheating asshole.”

Jaehyun snorts. “You can’t call a parent asshole.”

“Not to their face,” Renjun says solemnly.

Jaehyun starts wheezing while he insists loudly on being right.

“Hyung, for real! Let me finish talking.”

Jaehyun raises his hands in a placating gesture. “Okay, okay.” he grins, but gradually stops laughing.

Renjun lifts a finger. “With all due honesty, he’s an—'' the twitch at the corner of Jaehyun’s lips has him grinning— “fine, he’s a _bad_ person for cheating on his wife. But it’s not your fault, hyung. You didn’t know.”

Again, Jaehyun slumps against the bench. “Thanks,” he murmurs.

Renjun pats him on the shoulder with a quiet welcome.

* * *

It is the day when teachers get free carnation and pass for a half-day.

_Teachers’ Day._

Just like the previous years, Moon Kindergarten celebrates the day by respectfully asking teachers to open their wallets a week earlier and pool some money for cheap gifts for a fun half-day. It is not everyday that you get to stand on a literal stage, after all. Not when you teach at a kindergarten.

Joining the clapping crowd and holding back from hollering himself, Jaehyun grins as Johnny bows to the audience down the stage. Every teacher in the office unanimously agrees that he deserves the Parent-like-Teacher Award— heck, everyone in the near vicinity of the kindergarten probably would. If Jaehyun is going to reincarnate, _he_ would put in a request to be reborn as Johnny's child.

After Johnny walks down the stage, Taeil, the assigned host of the day, leans forward against the podium and lifts his hand. The audience quiets down in an instant, reduced to an excited thrum of energy. "Everyone, let's continue with this energy. The next award is Best Teacher!"

Jaehyun bites his lips and shifts nervously in his seat. From the corner of his eyes, he can see Renjun stifling laughter behind his palm. He hooks Renjun's neck close and leans in to whisper; "Don't laugh, asshole."

Renjun only grins wider. "Language, Teacher Jung. And quit looking so hopeful."

Protest. Jaehyun wants to do that. He needs to deny that baseless allegation. Him? The audacity to accuse him of such things!

On the stage, Taeil clears his throat and adjusts the microphone. He flips the cue card in his hand with a theatrical flourish. "The Best Teacher for 2025, voted by students across the school is—"

—Drum rolls.

"Teacher Huang Renjun!"

Slackening the arm around Renjun's neck, Jaehyun turns to look at him. Two pairs of wide eyes lock onto each other. A second passes by with kids on the floor cheering and clapping.

"Wha—?" Renjun starts, then stops. His eyes are round and huge as he glances around. "Wait, _me?_ For real?"

Taeil nods. "Yes, Teacher Renjun! Congrats for breaking Teacher Kim's record for three consecutive years! Please come onto the stage and accept this award!"

By Renjun's right, a few teachers leave congratulatory pats on his shoulder. On the floor, the wild whooping continues, urging him up and congratulating him for the award. Upon introspection, Seah has started a club of cheerleaders, and their excited cheers are led by another kid from Renjun's class.

As Renjun hurries onto the stage to accept the shiny fake gold plate with an abashed smile, Jaehyun squints his eyes at his kids. A few of them, at least, have some decency to grin sheepishly at him. Minyoung, ever so generous with reactions, waves at him and gestures at Renjun with both thumbs up.

He sighs. He cannot win over that.

With the way his students unanimously voted for another teacher, he has lost his reign. Jung Jaehyun, The Best Teacher in Moon Kindergarten for Two Years, has been officially dethroned. Half-dejected, half-proud, he joins the crowd in clapping as Renjun takes a bow on the stage.

* * *

For all that Jaehyun worries about what could be his biggest mistake, he is more stressed out with work.

“Why did I agree to be the finance manager for Sports Day in the initial meeting?” he laments to Renjun while they are huddled together at a table, supervising brunch.

Eyes flickering away from their students towards his face, Renjun nudges a plateful of crackers his way. “Because you believe in yourself a bit more than you do in me and the other teachers?” he suggests, punctuating the sentence with a gulp of his branded, overpriced honey lemon water.

Jaehyun musters the best blank expression he could make.

“...Do you want some of this?”

“Is the taste any good?”

“For the price tag?” Renjun steals Jaehyun’s untouched cup of water. “I can make it at home, accidentally add a truck of sugar instead of a spoon, and my wallet and legs both won’t suffer this much. Impulse buying is bad for my health.”

Jaehyun shakes his head. “Now I realise why I volunteered.”

* * *

While waiting for some late parents to swing by that evening, Jaehyun plays sudoku on his phone. He squints at the last incomplete square, left at the corner of the three-by-three box. _What number is not here yet…?_

"Two."

Jaehyun whips his head up. Doyoung smiles above him and leans back to give him space, the steel watch around his wrist catching the evening sunlight. He appears up to his professional status. Jaehyun takes in his appearance silently.

Crisp ironed slacks. A pinstripes tie complementing his white shirt, tucked into the aforementioned slacks. A grey blazer resting on his left arm while his right is clutching a phone, the screen lit up with pings of messages that go ignored in favour of giving his full attention to Jaehyun.

Forcefully, Jaehyun tears his eyes away to glare at the empty square. He balls his fists instead of reaching forward to type a measly two in. Then he schools his expression to look at Doyoung. _Be professional._

"Shouldn't you check that out?"

Doyoung's eyes flicker to his phone. He pockets it easily and shrugs. "Eh, I'm out of office right now. Work can wait." He gives him a bright smile. Jaehyun swallows. _God._

"Where is Minyoung, Teacher Jung?"

"Dad!" Minyoung breaks the tension in the air by running into the picture. There is a stray confetti in her hair, bright red. It probably got stuck when she was decorating the class' banner. She bounces to her father and hugs his leg. "You're here today!"

"Yeah, Minyoungie. I'm here today instead of your Mom, is that fine?"

"It's bad, Dad."

"Right— ha, _what?_ Hey!"

Jaehyun bites onto his bottom lip. _Why is he even listening to all of this?_

"No, I mean—" Minyoung pouts and clings to her dad's arm— "what am I going to do once you get busy with work again?"

"Who teaches you that? What a smart daughter I have!"

As if all of these are not enough torture for Jaehyun, Doyoung starts to giggle. The sound is stunningly pretty.

There is a swoop down in Jaehyun's stomach. He feels sick. Thankfully, another parent arrives at the door, greeting him loudly. "Teacher Jung! Sorry for the delay, I was stuck in a traffic jam on my way from work."

"Junhwi's grandma!" Jaehyun springs up. "Sorry, Minyoung-ssi and Minyoung's Dad." He bows, probably as stiff as a new idol trainee with no experience of dances whatsoever, and makes a run towards the door.

"Grandma, it's okay if you take your time. I'm not rushing to go home anyway." Jaehyun turns all the way towards the back of the class and decidedly does not look at his desk up at the front.

"Junhwi, come! Your grandma is here for you," he calls out.

Placing some toys back on a shelf at the back of the classroom, Junhwi scrambles to the door with his spiderman-themed bag thrown over his shoulder. "Grandma!"

"Wait," Jaehyun stops the boy at the door before he can run past him, "kiddo, careful of how you walk." He adjusts the strap of the bag to a more comfortable position— "There. All set. Have a nice day!"

After the little family leaves, Jaehyun finally turns towards his desk. It is empty, safe for his phone and stationery. He looks around the classroom, now devoid of children's cheerful chatters and their gentle yet stern parents, and sighs.

_It is better this way._

* * *

Humming under his breath, Jaehyun taps a pen against his desk. In front of him, lie several pages of a list. A list that was printed with the aged printer in the principal's office, too old and too many contributions done that its ink turns out a bit yellowish on paper. Well, what matters are that he saves money with printouts for work purposes and can read the words. He pulls the papers closer.

Leaning against his chair, he reads the title again.

** Budgets for Moon Kindergarten's Sports Day 2025  **

"That looks serious," a familiar voice mutters above his head.

Jaehyun jumps out of his chair with a scream and knocks against the intruder's head. The whole classroom goes still. If a pencil drops onto the floor at that moment, it would probably be heard by everyone. Blushing up to the tips of his ears, he bows at the intruder— the victim.

"Sorry! I'm—"

The victim waves a hand before Jaehyun's face. "No, no!" He laughs. "Teacher Jung, I'm the one who should apologise. I've knocked on the door many times, so I wrongly assumed you've heard me. I'm so sorry for shocking you!"

The intruder is none other than Kim Doyoung. Like a fool, Jaehyun gapes at him.

Doyoung tries for a smile, although it looks too shaky not to call it a grimace. He pulls his hand away and fidgets with his collar. On contrary to yesterday's suit, today his plain long sleeved dark blue shirt is paired with jeans, ripped at the knees and snug on his legs.

"Sorry…?"

Jaehyun grabs his hand. He faces his class for a second.

"Kids, stay put for a moment, okay? Keep practicing your handwriting!" He takes a brief glance around the room, and meets eyes with Minyoung. "Ah, sorry, please wait a while, Minyoung-ah. I need to borrow your dad. Just a minute."

Pulling Doyoung out to the corridor, Jaehyun strains his face to be blank. "What are you doing here?"

Doyoung, to his credit, averts his eyes to the floor. "Uhm, I thought you got the memo?"

_What the fuck. Is this guy for real?_

Jaehyun opens his mouth, only to shut it tight. What even can he say to this foolishly hopeful man? Is it even hope? Or is it immoral enthusiasm? Unethical will to become a bad dad? …a bad husband?

Doyoung raises an eyebrow at their hands— particularly, at Jaehyun's tight grip around him.

"Uh, first of all, Teacher Jung, can you let go of me?"

"Ah, sorry." Jaehyun blushes.

"It's fine, let me apologise too. I'm sorry for being late, but I'm here now to fetch Minyoung."

"Late…?" Jaehyun blinks. He turns around to check the clock on the wall. It says 9am, an early three hours before the actual time for classes ending. He frowns.

Doyoung sighs. "Ah, didn't Sooyoung say anything to you? She told me she would…"

Jaehyun scratches his head. What even? He pulls his phone out. Onscreen, a notification popup when clicked brings him to a chat where three unread messages have been waiting for him since an hour ago.

**Minyoung's Mom**

> Teacher Jung, something happened back at my hometown
> 
> I would like to bring my daughter back for a few days
> 
> Her dad would come by in a few, and I hope you can assist us today too
> 
> I'm so, so, _so sorry_ for the inconvenience

_Oh._

Jaehyun pales. "I didn't notice your wife's message, I'm so sorry!"

"Wife—?"

"Oh!" Jaehyun gasps. "The emergency leave form! I'll go and see to it quickly, you can tell me the details later. You should leave now with Minyoung!"

"Wait—"

Jaehyun does not wait. He rushes along the corridor and stops by the classroom at the end, where Johnny is absorbed with storytelling. Under normal circumstances, he would hate to interrupt the session. This time, however, it is an emergency and cannot wait. After asking the other teacher to look after his class, Jaehyun dashes to the office.

Damn, how conceited can he be? What a terrible teacher.

Afterwards, things go by in a blur for the rest of the day. Jaehyun ignores a pressing urge to analyse the situation, make out his mistakes and maybe see what is actually wrong and what is not. He cannot do that today. Too much money he needs to plan for.

As such, he fails to take into account the confused expression which Doyoung has worn before they part ways today. When he finishes work, all he can think of is that he ought to get a pay raise— or at least a bonus for this. The Sports Day better goes well or he is going to throw his body into a goal himself, new net or not.

* * *

Jung Jaehyun might not be the best teacher this year— no, he is not salty about losing to anyone on Teacher’s Day for the first time, no way. But he is strong _and_ competitive, and sport is one of his hobbies. His primary job _is_ teaching physical education. As such, Red, his sports house, is going to win today. Not a bitter win of scraping a second last place either— they are going to be The Champion.

Their strategy to win on Sports Day this year is divided into two parts. A large part of it lies on the students, and Jaehyun trusts them. The perks of being a teacher for the strongest sports house— _the kids' words, not his_ — is that they have all the kids on top of each class name list. And what do all the kids placing on top of a class name list have in common?

They are all _aces_.

* * *

A ping pong ball bounces outbound from the lanes. Letting it stop just by his feet, Jaehyun grins. He looks up.

So far, out of four last representatives of each sports house— Red, Blue, Green and Yellow— the only one who has not dropped their orange plastic ball is Hyunjoon. Before the race has started, Jaehyun has pulled him and other Red House representatives aside for a prep talk.

_"Alright, kids. Congrats for being chosen to play in our first game. If we win this one, our friends are going to try harder to win the other games too."_

_Seowoo, a kid from Renjun's class, grins at him. She is going to be the first player for Red. The rest of them, despite being silenced by their nerves, all raise their shoulders with pride._

_"Remember, patience is the key. If you're not calm and rush ahead, the ball would most likely fall. We can't afford that."_

_The players nod. Jaehyun pats their backs and smiles._

_"Alright, let's do this!"_

With his fists clenched by his sides, Hyunjoon starts to power walk. He passes the player from Green, who has returned to her lane with the dropped ping pong ball, then Blue drops theirs, and the encouraging screams from the other students around Jaehyun start to gain volume.

Jaehyun grits his teeth. The Yellow player is nearing the finishing line. Unexceptionally calm, Hyunjoon closes in, but it is almost impossible to make it in time for the first place. From the other side of the field, Renjun is leading his students into cheers, already confident of their win.

With a dramatic swoosh, the last ball falls. The grass underneath it rustles as it rolls about, welcoming, laughing, happy.

Everyone stops cheering.

What sounds like Renjun gasping echoes faintly by the lanes.

Seowoo is the first person to break the silence. From the remaining three players' huddle by the finishing line, she runs towards it, almost trips over her own feet, and flings herself at Hyunjoon.

"We won the first gold!!!"

The silence spell breaks apart, and Jaehyun trails after the other students towards Hyunjoon, all joyful screams of congratulations jumping about in a circle.

Behind them, Renjun crouches down to meet the Yellow player's eyes. He smiles and pats her drooped shoulder. While the other players approach them to congratulate a second place win well worked for, he turns around. His eyes lock with Jaehyun's.

Fire meets wind. The school field blows hot. _The game is on._

* * *

Jaehyun observes the scoreboard with his hands on waist. Each game gives the houses points; four to the first place, and one for the last.

**SCOREBOARD**

Red -4,1,4

Blue -1,3,3

Green -2,2,1

Yellow -3,4,2

“Yellow House isn’t doing so bad this year,” he mutters.

“Thank you. Red too.”

Jaehyun glances sideways.

Renjun grins at him. “How does it feel to finish last in finding a candy in the flour?”

“I don’t know exactly, but maybe you do about being splashed water at, instead of watching it go into the designated plastic bottle?” Jaehyun deadpans.

Renjun snorts. “I feel refreshed, thank you. Junhwi’s grandmother keeps apologising to me whenever we meet across the field, but I’m not even mad about it.”

Jaehyun grins. “Anyway, ready for the last event?”

A crazed glint gleams in Renjun’s eyes. Belatedly, Jaehyun realises that he might be supporting the same look on his face.

“Our final game, basketball between the teachers is going to start soon!” Mr Moon calls out from the basketball court with a megaphone.

They give the scoreboard another once-over at the same time.

“Renjun, you’re playing against Blue for the first round, right?”

“Yeah. Make sure you win against Green if you want to get a shot at the second place for Sports Day this year,” Renjun reminds him with a shit-eating grin.

Jaehyun smirks. “Not if we show you why Red is the long-standing _champion_.”

* * *

For all the bluffing he says, Jaehyun is not an empty can. He has a reputation to upkeep and a promise to uphold. There is no way he is losing a game he plays. So far into his career, he has been able to maintain his reputation as the youngest teacher and the most skilled player of the House _(warning: the latter part is self-acclaimed)_.

Panting, he wipes the sweat from his brows with the back of his hand and rises from his crouching posture. Around him, all the other teachers who represented Red House are sprawled on the court. The only reason he has not fallen to his butt as soon as the whistle is blown is to ease his blood flow and muscles.

By his right, Johnny is sitting and gulping down a bottle of water. When they meet eyes, his crinkle at the corners. Jaehyun offers the sight of his dimples in return.

“Nice game,” Johnny calls out. “That buzzerbeater was awesome!”

Jaehyun raises his bottle in response. He is too exhausted to formulate a verbal response right away, but the grin he gets in return assures him that the meaning is well-received. He unscrews the cap and pours a mouthful of water.

Be it as Jaehyun may, he is _not_ too out of it to receive a ball to his face. Easing the bottle cap back on, he catches it single handedly. “Renjun,” he croaks out accusingly.

Renjun slips into sight with a proud sparkle in his eyes. “Congrats,” he says.

“You said that already when we’re shaking hands. Losers.”

Rolling his eyes, Renjun pulls a towel from his neck and tries to swat it at him. Jaehyun dodges it with a squawk.

“You’re crazy competitive, it’s literally scary,” Renjun comments.

Jaehyun shrugs. “I’ve a game to win, and a day to champion.” After Johnny guffaws nearby, he quickly lands the last blow. “Besides, because my kids _and_ their guardians cheer for me, I can do nothing except to win.”

“You’re like the whole batch’s P.E. teacher. Of course they cheer for you!” Renjun teases. “Even Seowoo screams for you, and not me. And _I_ am her homeroom teacher!”

Jaehyun shrugs. “What can I do? I’m just that good.”

“Oh please, you’re so annoying. Wait until next year, I will crush you.”

“Heh. What do you say, one year for payback?”

“It’s on!”

* * *

They are still on the court, chattering to pass time until the ending ceremony— perks of losing sleep over an event _months_ before it takes place is _not_ having to work on the day. This is when several figures approach them.

Renjun notices them first from his peripheral vision, and stiffens. “Hyung, not good,” he whispers.

Against his best judgement, Jaehyun turns his head to catch the view of what is making Renjun so distraught. It’s Minyoung. There is nothing wrong with her coming to him post-game— in fact, she has been one of his avid supporters during them that he almost considers forgetting how she was a proud Renjun-voter during Teachers’ Day.

The “not good” part comes from who Minyoung is walking over hand in hand with. Kim Doyoung and Kim Sooyoung. They make eye contact with Jaehyun. Doyoung grins. Sooyoung smiles. She really is pretty.

Jaehyun squeezes around the plastic bottle in his hand. _He should not have turned around._ All they can do now is to wait, so that they do.

“Hello Mr and Mrs Kim, and Minyoung,” Both Jaehyun and Renjun bows once they are in closer vicinity.

Sooyoung bows too. “You are both amazing players! We barely can sit still through that last game, it’s intensely good!” She compliments.

And let it be known yet again that Jaehyun cannot take compliments well. He ducks his head. The telltale warmth creeping up all the way to his ears is back. “Oh, you’re too kind,” he murmurs.

Renjun cracks a smile. His cheeks are flushed a bit, but Jaehyun cannot tell if it’s from exercising, or being flustered. “Thank you for your kind words, Minyoung’s mom. Jaehyun-hyung here is the MVP, though. He’s the one who made that buzzer-beater shot!”

_The betrayal. This traitor._

“Oh, Teacher Huang, you’re right! Teacher Jung, you really live up to your P.E. teacher name. Not only you take care of our Minyoung-ie here well,” she pats the top of her head affectionately, “you can play well too. We’re grateful to have you as her homeroom teacher.”

Beside her, Doyoung nods, a proud glow on his face.

And this is where Jaehyun decides he cannot take it anymore. His too-hot ears, the lump of guilt rising in his throat, and the easy, trusting smile Sooyoung is giving him. He does not deserve these compliments. He should be yelled or cursed at. Not receiving gratitude for being a good teacher. But one’s wrath for being a homewrecker.

His fists are trembling, so Jaehyun hides them behind him. “Thank you for the compliments,” he mutters. It is good that he is not choking up, but it is close enough. If he stays, he won’t be able to keep calm. So he runs, with his figurative tail tucked between his legs in burning shame and a lousy excuse about having to help out with something.

Maybe Doyoung says something to him then, but he already turns away. He hopes Renjun can come up with something to cover it up.

* * *

He finds himself in the teachers’ lounge later, fists clenching and unclenching. There is an empty bottle rolling near his feet, so he must have finished the water sometime in between. The room, too, is empty. All other teachers are either out mingling about in the field, or under the canopies selling beverages and snacks, or under the large tent where they are probably preparing the last bit of the closing ceremony after tallying up the scores.

Red wins again this year. Jaehyun does not feel the familiar triumph at the thought. Instead, all he can think about is the way Minyoung grins so happily with her hands in her parents’. He feels terrible. Even more so if he thinks about how his stomach feels weird when Doyoung flashes a smile at him. _That_ smile. It’s his brand, so Jaehyun wonders why he has not noticed earlier. To feel like that towards someone who has a family of their own, and his student’s parents too at that!

“Ugh.”

Jaehyun stares at the files on his desk. His cubicle has been tidied up, yet it irks him to sit here like he is the type of a person who runs away from his problems. He knows what the real issue is here, though.

If it is just a simple crush, it would have gone away by now. Jaehyun has had his fair share of crushes, squishies, simple attractions, and rejections. He lies to his mom saying that he has no time for dating, but it’s not like he never tries. It is just that when he tries, it does not work.

It is not like he gets a boner every time he sees Doyoung’s stupidly beautiful face or equally stupid, pretty, bright smile. He is not down that bad.

He is sad over seeing Doyoung with Minyoung and Sooyoung, though. It is not just regret and guilt. He feels sad and longs for something he does not have.

“ _Should_ not have,” Jaehyun sneers out loud.

“What is it you shouldn’t have that has you gazing into the distance and making a faraway expression?”

“Argh!” Jaehyun spins in his chair, arms shooting up to shield his face— and misses punching Doyoung in the face by a mere inch. Should have taken that chance, his heart laments.

Showing both of his palms, Doyoung steps back. “Wow, uh. It’s just me, Kim Doyoung.”

Jaehyun swallows. What the hell. It’s like he summons the devil himself by thinking about it. He rests a hand over his chest to feel his rapid heartbeat.

“Sorry,” Doyoung drops his hands to his side, “I really didn’t mean to surprise you. I mean, I kinda did— I didn’t know you’ll be mad.”

“What are you doing here, Minyoung’s dad?” Jaehyun means the venom in his voice. He pretends not to see Doyoung’s slight recoil at the title.

The hurt withers away from Doyoung’s face as fast as it comes. “Back then, with Minyoung and Sooyoung. You look red, and seem to be sick. I… don’t know. I’m not sure, but I thought I saw you shaking, so I tried to look for you.” He shrugs. “And you’re here, so now I’m here too.”

“...what?”

“Huh?”

“What’s the matter with you?” Jaehyun squeezes his eyes shut. He cannot bear to see the obvious glisten of hope in Doyoung’s eyes on him, nor to unwrap the loud plea under his carelessly spewn words. _This is ridiculous._

“I’m worried about you, Jaehyun, that’s it.”

“That’s the problem!” Jaehyun snaps his eyes open. He immediately regrets it, because now he sees the slight tremble in Doyoung’s hands and the distinct layer of emotional wounds when he steps back, as if scared of him. He sighs.

“That’s the problem,” he repeats slowly, as though he is in a class and teaching the right way of stretching to a timid student. “You shouldn’t be worried about me.”

“And who are you to tell me what I should do?” Doyoung meets his eyes halfway, and for a second there is a mirror of his exasperation and fury in there.

“I am _the one_ who you’re uselessly worrying about!”

“It’s _not_ useless!”

“But it’s **wrong** , and I **hate** you for it!”

That seems to kill off any other word on the tip of Doyoung’s tongue. Jawslacked, he releases an audible inhalation through his mouth. “Ha, is that really how you feel about me?”

The humorless laugh irritates Jaehyun. His heart hurts, and his mind is both weeping and screeching. He averts his eyes away.

“Yes,” he whispers. “It hurts me whenever you come by.” _Lies._

“Also, I hate that I’ve to act nice towards you because you’re, above all that’s happened, a parent.” _More lies._

Without waiting to hear even more, Doyoung storms out of the room. As soon as his footsteps fade out, Jaehyun slumps onto the floor, knees temporarily incapacited by the intense argument while a rivulet of tears run down his cheeks. He has always been an angry-crier.

Not a minute later, Renjun runs into the lounge. He has changed into the Sports Day uniform, but his basketball jersey is all bunched up in his hand and he’s still wearing a pair of three-quarters, like he changed clothes then does not bother to get the rest done because of an urgent situation.

“Jaehyun-hyung,” he crouches to level his eyes with him and reaches out to hold Jaehyun’s wrist in place when he hastens in a belated attempt at wiping his tears away, “oh no, was I too late?”

Maybe it is the soft voice Renjun is using on Jaehyun as he engulfs him in a hug, like he is a lost student finding his way to class; or perhaps it is The Point where his dam of emotions finally breaks, and breaks, and never stops breaking. Maybe it has been long coming, but he is too far up in his head to realise it.

When Jaehyun bursts into sobs, he cannot stop the rest from coming.

* * *

When Jaehyun was a kid, he enjoyed the trips to the beach with his mother the most.

Usually, waves at the beach bring about everything. Shells and sand, among others. Murky sand erodes and cleaner sand turns up at its place, or vice versa. Sometimes, he might get a pretty, offwhite shell that appears like it comes out of Mother Nature’s washing machine. Just as every batch of waves brings a beautiful shell after plenty of broken ones, the surprise after all the downsides comes to Jaehyun sometime after. Or, to be more specific, a pleasant surprise before the real huge upside of it all.

Jaehyun is in his cubicle when Teacher Lee Mansik— the kindergarten has three Teacher Lee’s; Teacher Lee Mansik is the one teaching Mathematics— stops by with a big colourful manila card by his side. He clears his throat to announce his presence first, so Jaehyun is not that startled to see him there. He bows when he does.

(Jaehyun slowly, gradually, works on his reaction to surprise visits. Renjun says he came so far to improve like this. He usually smirks that annoying signature of his when he is saying this, so Jaehyun rewards his compliment with a _(fair warning: another self claim)_ fond knock on his head. Also with a warm cup of awfully-bitter tea from the vending machine outside the teachers’ lounge which Renjun likes so much, but ehh that is just a small detail.)

“Say, Jaehyun, what is the name of your class president again?” Teacher Lee asks.

Jaehyun rests his pen very, very slowly on the page of a diary he is writing in. “Minyoung,” he tells. “Kim Minyoung.”

“Aha! Yes, yes, that’s her. I keep mixing her with the boy from my class, Minhyung.” Teacher Lee slaps his side and accidentally drops a sticky note from the manila card.

“Oh, oops!” He moves to retrieve it, but Jaehyun reaches it first.

 _ **10,**_ the black marker has been used to write on it in bold. Teacher Lee slips it into an envelope stuck to the manila, while Jaehyun returns the sentiment with a ready welcome.

“Kim Minyoung,” Teacher Lee tests on his tongue and smiles. “She’s improved so much after the Parents-Teacher Meeting Day, but I only remembered to tell you about it now because the way she participates in class today. She didn’t get every answer right, but she doesn’t look so scared anymore when I ask a question around the class.

“I understand now by what you said about her when I asked before. What a bright kid!

“You know, when kids learn indirectly that teachers are there to help them get things right to our capabilities and not to be angry about what they did wrong— gosh, that feeling!

“It’s a wonderful thing to feel as a teacher,” he ends with a soft smile.

If anyone asks, Jaehyun does not tear up with pride. Truthfully. He does not have moist eyes, nor a dimpled grin. But he is a proud teacher, and he wants to scream how proud he is of his students, on top of a hill if he can.

Teacher Lee pats his shoulder. “Whatever you did, or whatever you told her parents, it must have been the right thing, because I’m sure they’re the one behind her improvement.”

Jaehyun smiles and thanks him for his contribution too, and only when Teacher Lee leaves for his own cubicle does the realisation dawns on him. Doyoung must have helped Minyoung, somehow. _After_ the parents-teacher meeting. The timing fits too right for it to be coincidental.

He has his phone switched on and the contacts app opened before he realises what he is doing. He was going to call Doyoung to tell him about the happy news. Which is the first time he is going to dial the numbers after getting it, too. Also, after their argument in which he called him bad to his face and told him off with hatred, nonetheless.

He places his phone face down. He has to think this through first.

* * *

The news of Minyoung’s improvement is only one of the good things that happen to him in a while. After all, Doyoung definitely avoids the kindergarten. Not that he actually has to come, anyway.

Sooyoung magically clears her schedule every time there is an event, and for a short period, she never misses fetching Minyoung from the kindergarten after work.

Jaehyun likes to think that he is getting better at pretending like he does not see the way Minyoung’s eyes sparkle when someone’s father comes over to fetch a student, but dim when she realises he is not there for her.

 _It is better this way,_ he thinks in morose. Every day, he pushes the nagging doubt off the wheel of control in his mind. He has fifteen kids (not biological, but same difference) and he would be proving himself as a bad teacher if he lets his crumbling love life debilitate their bright future.

Jaehyun gives his laptop a blank stare. The screen is black, having shut it down a few hours prior. His eyes hurt after hours of catching up to his favorite shows, and the previews of some movies and series that he ends up adding to his list, for later. Whenever _later_ is, anyway.

After all that happens, he decides to give himself a night of rest before he picks up paperworks again, so Friday is a good choice for that. Except for the fact that he is going to tear his hair away in boredom _and_ frustration at being bored instead. The clock on his phone lock screen says it is past nine o’clock. It is too early to sleep, yet too boring to be sleepy anyway.

Jaehyun’s stomach growls, as though reminding him that he is not alone. He snickers. “Of course, of course,” he pats it in understanding, “I'm not forgetting you entirely. Of course you’re here too, even when I’m bored.”

He sounds like a lunatic. To be realistic, so does other Gen Z when they open their mouth. The world is just too lame to not relish in being a lunatic once in a while, especially considering the new things they learn every day.

Exhaling through his nose, he stands up and stretches. Might as well buy some snacks from the convenience store to accompany his lonely stomach.

* * *

Of course, noting Jaehyun’s life experience so far, there is bound to be a mishap on the very night he wants to relax.

“Teach!”

Jaehyun stumbles back at the sudden weight against his legs, but manages to grab the lamppost in time. Whew. Thank you, nice reflex. He peers down his feet to see what bumped into him, and voilà, a child. A familiar one, at that.

“Minyoung-ssi!” He crouches down and flashes his dimples at her for the delightful surprise on such a wonderful evening. What a way to end boredom—

— wait, what is this sense of calamity, such intensity that causes goosebumps down his arms?

“Hello, Teacher Jung Jaehyun.”

Ah, yes. Of course. Every mishap in this dead novel depicting Jaehyun’s life so far can be traced back to the guys standing over him, whose face is half-covered by shadow and partially by that same messy hairstyle again. Invoke some memories; just checking the first item in the list of Things-Kim Doyoung-Does.

Jaehyun gulps and stands up. “Kim Doyoung-ssi.”

“Teacher, teacher, we meet outside class!” Minyoung bounces on her heels, eyes sparkling with the honest, curious newfound discovery.

“Yes, Minyoung-ah.” Jaehyun smiles at her. “Meeting outside the classroom is possible too.”

Doyoung scoffs under his breath.

Jaehyun bites on his tongue to stop the angry surge in his veins from bursting out of him in the form of vain words. He should not argue with his student’s parents in front of the student, for them to see and hear. He cannot stoop that low. Never. Facing Minyoung again, Jaehyun notices the dark blue band on her head. It matches her blue pants perfectly.

“Minyoung-ah,” he calls her. “Is this a new headband?”

Somewhere behind her, Doyoung inhales sharply. Jaehyun decides to ignore that and unpack it later when he has time. For now, he wants to focus on his very cute, very precious student, thank you so much.

Minyoung nods eagerly, the way six-years-olds tend to do because they think— no, because they _are_ Cool™. A stray strand of her hair springs up and dips, again and again from her movements, baring and hiding her forehead in turn.

Chuckling, Jaehyun sweeps it away, careful not to poke her in the eyes and presses it down under his fingertip to flatten it. Minyoung tilts her head slightly to the left, and ignoring how similar that expression is to one from the night he unfortunately still remembers despite claiming to hate it, he lets out another breathy chuckle.

“This is one stubborn strand of hair,” he complains rather jokingly. Minyoung squashes her hair under her palms trying to find the strand, and when he tells her that she is not even close, pouts so long her lips can be tied up in a ribbon.

 _Goodness._ Jaehyun is so far gone for his students; if any of them pouts at him, he would do anything to make it stop. Anything that makes them sad or upset should go. _Anything._

“Here, let me redo this, okay?” Jaehyun waits until Minyoung gives him a nod, even if that includes her looking at her father (whose existence Jaehyun has been successful in ignoring so far tonight, _wow_ ) for permission.

Then, he detaches her headband from her head. Minyoung’s hair falls messily over her eyes— _just like her father,_ his heart purrs in a self-betrayer’s role. Shaking his head to filter the voices out, he combs her hair softly with his fingers, especially the stubborn, sticking-up, wild strands. When he is satisfied enough, he helps her put on the headband back.

“There,” he mumbles more to himself. “All set and ready to conquer your bright future.”

Minyoung pats the top of her head, reviewing his handiwork, and grins. “Thank you, Teacher!”

Jaehyun leans back and admires his job. “You’re welcome!”

But of course, all good things must come to an end.

Minyoung stands on her toes and waves at somewhere above Jaehyun’s head. “Dad, doesn’t this look pretty? Teacher did this for me!”

“Yeah, it’s pretty. You look more like a powerful princess now, Minyoung-ie.” Funnily enough, Doyoung’s voice comes from the same place where Minyoung is looking. Hilarious, really. Only in the sense that it is not good for Jaehyun’s heart. Be strong, heart, he prays. Just when did he move around to stand behind him?

Before Jaehyun could cry about his fate, and just as when he thinks destiny is done toying with his heart, then comes the last arrow.

“I didn’t know you’ve magic fingers.” A whisper. A hot breath against his ears. The low register.

A bullseye.

Jaehyun laughs, then halts abruptly. Even in his ears, he does not sound genuine. It is too forced, more of an artificial intelligence definition than a real life example. In fact, he cannot hear his voice clearly. All he can hear is the loud thump, thump, thump of his heart. Instead of being strong, it is getting weaker. Weak enough to react to something as simple as a line from a man.

Scrunching his nose in distaste at the thought, he lifts his head to stare straight into Doyoung’s eyes. “It’s never my intention to let you know, either.”

“Yeah? So why did you?” Doyoung narrows his eyes in a challenge.

Jaehyun scoffs. “I did it for Minyoung, who is my precious student.”

Minyoung beams, innocently not yet understanding what is happening between the adults. Registering this fact, Jaehyun stands up to his full height so that she would not hear what he whispers next. To his amusement, this also gains him at least two centimetres of advantage. He does not know the exact moment when Doyoung processes this, maybe at the same moment, maybe not, but his cheeks are flushed pink while he glares up at Jaehyun.

Since it is his turn for a sweet, _sweet_ revenge now, he takes his time in bending down his neck to reach Doyoung’s ear.

The faint gasp Doyoung lets out is the perfect cue. “Not for _you_ , hyung,” he purrs.

Withdrawing a step back presents him to a beautiful sight of Doyoung, fully flushed and absolutely flustered by whatever the _fuck_ Jaehyun did just now. Jaehyun grins and shoves his hands into both pockets. They are clammy with perspiration, but none others need to know that.

The whole situation feels ridiculous, and it dawns on Jaehyun how hypocrite he is for calling Doyoung a cheater when he is the one flirting. _Oh._ There is no doubt. What he did _was_ flirting.

How shameful. How idiotic.

Jaehyun takes another step back, further adding to the distance between them. This is a dangerous territory, and he should not tread the water if he does not want to drown in the same mistake. Once is enough. Twice is pure dumb.

“I do need to do something to you, though,” He speaks into the void between their distance.

Doyoung’s eyes are not directed at him when he speaks. “Wh—” his voice cracks, and his body tenses up in its entirety. Oh, so he _is_ affected.

There is only so much embarrassment Jaehyun can pretend not to see, but he kindly chooses to spare Doyoung some dignity and scrutinises his nails. Huh. He might need to buy a new bottle of nail polish, now that he actually puts his mind to think about it.

“What do you mean, Jaehyun-ssi?”

“Oh, it’s just that, Teacher Lee— the one who teaches Minyoung Math, not Music— complimented Minyoung the other day.”

It is almost hilarious how fast Doyoung’s expression changes when the topic involves his daughter. He visibly perks up, and closes their distance in a second. Adorable too, if Jaehyun actually thinks about it, but he does _not,_ so that is that.

“I can’t hear you clearly from there,” he says, as if that justifies how the proximity causes Jaehyun’s heart to clench in longing and yearning and forbidden want—

— Jaehyun adjusts his own sweatshirt with his hands. If anything, the rustles of fabric ground him and provide enough distraction from looking at Doyoung directly in the face. He nods, however, to show that he is still listening.

“What is it he says about Minyoung?” Doyoung inquires impatiently.

“Erm, oh, yeah. He said that she’s improved after the Parents-Teacher Meeting Day, and participates actively in class. To quote him word by word; _She didn’t get every answer right, but she doesn’t look so scared anymore when I ask a question around the class._ He also mentioned that she’s a bright kid.”

With every line of his recount, Doyoung’s eyes glitter, brighter and more shimmering than during prior lines. When he ends, Doyoung looks like he is about to cry. That alone almost makes Jaehyun panic. He knows what to do when kids cry, but not adults. Had his fair share of being the crying shoulders for adults in college, during odd jobs here and there, but never for a parent.

Doyoung inhales deeply, and smiles at him. For some reasons, Jaehyun knows this is one of his genuine ones, and not filled with snark. “Thank you,” he whispers into the night.

Nodding, Jaehyun meets his eyes with confidence. He is used to this, to parents thanking him for various reasons. Yet, there is a heavy feeling in his chest while he nods and receives the gratitude.

Doyoung is not done, as it seems. “Thank you so much, Jaehyun. It’s a bit sad that I won’t be able to spend more time with Minyoung for these few weeks, which is why we’re together on a weeknight, by the way. I’ll be more busy, and half of all these good things have been thanks to you, even without your knowing. Thank you.”

There is a lot to unpack there. Jaehyun has so many questions, but he does not know where to start. What does Doyoung mean by weeknights, for example? Or why he is going to be busy? Or the implication that he hasn’t come to the kindergarten not because of their argument, but about something else? Perhaps, he should ask what is the example of those good things he meant, for starters?

He is about to ask either of these when Doyoung has Minyoung by his side and bows to Jaehyun. Maybe he misses the memo, but before he can stop them, they are already extending their goodbyes and no sooner than he can say the word _wait_ , they have left.

Jaehyun stands there, wondering if he dreamt the whole exchange from start to finish, but then his stomach growls so loud a couple of passersby give him a strange look. The thought of attending to his confusion about this situation slips out of his mind while he hurries to find the convenience store. He did promise his stomach a companion or two, after all.

* * *

The big surprise comes no sooner than three days later, on a Tuesday. Yep, on the day when Renjun and him shared a classroom for a period. This week, it is Jaehyun’s turn to be the designated storyteller, so he opens the thick fairytales compilation book and voices the big bad wolf, the sick grandmother, and Little Red Riding Hood.

Jaehyun wraps up his storytelling for the day to a cry of encore, but after some coaxing manages to convince them to start moving for English next. Teacher Kim Taeri might need to spend her first ten minutes telling half of the kids here today a fairytale in English with her special finger puppet book, so Jaehyun asks Renjun to get a box of jam-filled doughnuts from that bakery Teacher Kim likes later during lunch, and they agree to split the price.

He is holding the door open for Renjun’s students to return to their classroom when his phone rings, and the alphabet song starts to play. Smiling apologetically at Teacher Seo when his kids begin to sing along loudly, he excuses himself and scurries away further down the corridor and towards the teachers’ lounge. He picks the call up. Even from this distance, he can make out Hyunjoon’s voice (off-key), singing louder than Teacher Seo (melodious).

 _Huh._ He should ask Teacher Seo to join their storytelling session sometimes. Next week they might hear the tale of the Boy Crying Wolf, and Teacher Seo can cry wolf better than he personally thinks he can.

Chuckling at the idea, he holds his phone closer to his ear. The conversation goes a bit like the following:

“Hello?”

“Hello, Teacher Jung! I’m Kim Sooyoung, Minyoung's mom.

“Oh! How are you, ma'am?

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Teacher, I’m sorry for springing this suddenly on you, but I'm afraid I can't fetch my daughter today. There is an emergency meeting I’ve to attend because my boss fell sick.”

“Oh! What to do, then? About Minyoung?”

(And this is where everything only truly goes downhill. The real storm. The biggest wave at the shore.)

“My husband is going to fetch her for me, so I’m letting you know beforehand.”

"Your husband…?"

_...didn't he say that he's going to be busy this week?_

"Yes! In fact, he offered to, since he's _free_ these days. Oh, and he seems eager to meet you!"

_Doyoung is free…?_

"Alright, okay. I’ll take note of that. Thank you for informing me, Minyoung’s mom."

Then, before Jaehyun blows up at the wrong person, he hangs up first. He grinds his teeth. How dare Doyoung lie to his face and brazenly offer to come here! Eager to _meet_ him? Ha! Don't give him that _bullshit_.

Just watch, when he arrives today, Jaehyun is going to give him a piece of his mind.

* * *

After nap time, Minyoung quickly becomes the only child left. Jaehyun wills his heart not to break while she keeps glancing at the door at any slight noises; dried leaves, wind, footfalls down the corridor, car engine being started at the parking lot far from the classroom. He is about to stand up and march towards the teachers’ lounge to force whoever is still there for a stop in the noise pollution around the kindergarten when there are three tentative knocks on the door.

"Hello! I came for Kim Minyoung."

Jaehyun frowns. That is not Doyoung’s voice. He barely gets up on his feet when Minyoung beats him to the door.

She pulls the man's hand eagerly. “Uncle, you’re here!”

The man at the door pokes Minyoung's cheeks and glances around. Upon meeting Jaehyun's eyes, he smiles and bows.

"You must be Minyoung's homeroom teacher! It's nice to finally meet you!"

Sharp jawline. Pointed nose. Bright hair… _too_ bright, in fact. Jaehyun has never seen someone in the school compound with hair as bright as the paint mix the kids like to make during Art, and a smile so kind they look like an angel.

"Are you an idol?" The words jump out of his mouth before he can knock some senses into himself. He sees his mistakes before the man can answer and blushes.

"Wait, no, I mean, Minyoung, who is this?" Jaehyun walks forward, ready to snatch his child from the arms of an evil person. No matter how kind they look like, he should not entrust a child with a stranger. Maybe there is an idol out there whose stage name is _Uncle_? Or a nickname? Is Minyoung already at the age where she likes idols, though?

The possible idol, a stranger— Uncle's smile falls.

“Oh! Sooyoung-ssi told you, right, because you’re Minyoung-ie's homeroom teacher! She can’t make it today, so I'm the one taking Minyoung home. Ah, I’m sorry, how rude of me to not introduce myself properly first thing when I arrive. Of course anyone would be suspicious!”

Jaehyun blinks. Everything this man says sounds like words he has learned but for a reason they make little sense to his ears.

“Let’s start over!” Uncle steps forward and bows. “I’m Sooyoung's husband, Kim Yeonho. You can just call me Yeonho!”

(Okay, so he is _not_ an idol from a company with a weird CEO, then.)

“I’m Jung Jaehyun, Minyoung’s teacher.”

Minyoung waves her arms around. “Oh, oh, Teacher, and he’s my Uncle!”

"Haha. Yeah, she called me Uncle." Yeonho leans down to ruffle her hair. The strands fall messily over Minyoung’s eyes, but even that cannot shade her bright beaming.

"The one and only, the **best** uncle in the world!"

"Minyoung-ah," Yeonho's laugh rumbles, "your actual uncle is going to weep if he hears that."

Minyoung grins. "But Uncle Gongmyoung isn't here now!"

(Let it be known that this is the exact moment when one of Jaehyun’s dying brain cells revives from death and connects with another, functional brain cell.)

He gasps. “Wait, you're really the husband Sooyoung talked about on the phone?”

Yeonho glances up. "Yeah. Is there any other husband she could be talking about?" He laughs again. He is generous with sharing what he finds funny. Not everyone is like that.

"We've been married for two years now, Teacher Jung."

"And Mommy said that Uncle is the best husband—” Minyoung chirps on— “They're the best two years in her life!"

Jaehyun looks at Minyoung. The rusty gears in his mind grind slowly into place as he tracks down the final missing piece of the puzzle.

"And, and, Dad tells Mom he thinks the same! He said Mom looks the happiest these days!"

 _Aha_. There it is.

The gears' deafening click resonates around Jaehyun’s skull. The full picture forms, and it is as clear as a day now. A family of four; 1) the biological parents: Kim Doyoung, Dad, and Kim Sooyoung, Mom; 2) the daughter: Minyoung; and the latest puzzle piece, 3) the stepfather: Uncle Yeonho.

Jaehyun does not want to admit it. He really does not want to, but an apology might be due.

Long after Yeonho and Minyoung have left, Jaehyun paces across the classroom. He fishes out his phone and stares at Doyoung’s contact number. How is he going to do this?

People say if you hesitate on something, then the hesitation is not something to brush off. Eat on it. Sit on it. Sleep on it. And if you still hesitate then, maybe it is really not good for you.

Sighing, Jaehyun locks his phone with a soft click. He probably should get off work first.

Along the journey home, he stares at the window. The bus creaks sometimes, like it is tired too, from all the work it has done, and all the goals it has not accomplished today.

Jaehyun needs sleep.

* * *

Morning comes to him sooner than Jaehyun would like it too. He cleans up, makes a simple breakfast, and leaves in the first bus that arrives that morning. Once at work, he tidies up the classroom, plans his next visit to his mother, and waits for the students’ arrival.

They are all routine, and everything he is used to. It feels fine. Nothing is going wrong yet today.

Come brunch, Jaehyun slips out of the canteen before any of the teachers can talk him into joining them. It is alright. It is not his turn to supervise the kids today. Once he is under the secluded shade in the garden, he pulls out his phone and proceeds to spend a minute staring at the contact number.

Is he really going to do this? Doyoung did mention being busy all week

Taking a deep breath, he presses call. Just as his thumb lifts and hovers over the button—

— “Is everything alright, Teacher Jung?”

Jaehyun jumps. He turns around, and oh, it is Mrs Yang. He quickly bows and plasters on his formal smile. “Yes, hello, everything is fine!”

Mrs Yang shakes her head. “You can stop putting on that nice act with me. I can see right through you, son.”

_Oh._

“I’m sorry,” Jaehyun bows again.

“It’s not something to apologise for, Teacher Jung. Now, what’s wrong?”

He glances down at the phone in his hand. Class A students stare back at him, fifteen toothy smiles, all young and innocent. Huh. Apparently, the call has disconnected and the screen has switched to his home screen. He shakes his head weakly at Mrs Yang.

“If you say so.” She shrugs and turns to leave.

Jaehyun pauses. _If not now, then when?_

“Wait!” He hurries after her. “Can I— can I ask you something?”

When she nods, he ushers her to the empty bench.

“So,” she pats his arm, “is there anything I can help with?”

“Have you ever assumed wrong of someone and hurt them because of it?”

“Oh, I had.”

“What did you do, then?”

“I atone for my sins by swearing secrecy on what I did.”

He swivels towards her. “Wait, _what?_ ”

Mrs Yang bursts laughing. “You should’ve seen your face! Gosh, for someone so young, you worry too much.” She pats the back of Jaehyun’s hand consolingly.

“It’s not the end of the world if you made a mistake, dear. When you make a mistake, no matter how big or small it is, apologise to the person you hurt, and don’t do it again.”

Inclining his head, Jaehyun places his free hand atop Mrs Yang’s and squeezes it gently. “Thank you.”

“Goodluck, Teacher Jung.”

* * *

Moistening his lips, Jaehyun types in a series of messages before he can change his mind. One click to send it. A leap forward.

**Doyoung-hyung [Minyoung’s Dad]**

Hyung, I'm sorry

You must be busy but this can't wait

I'm so sorry that I was angry at you all this time

It's because I thought you're trying to cheat

...On your wife.

With me…

I'm really sorry

There. Done. Shoving his phone into his pocket, Jaehyun leaves for brunch. Except, his phone starts to blast ABCs. He fumbles to retrieve it. Lo and behold, Doyoung’s ID is displayed across the screen.

“Doyoung-hyung? Why are you calling me?”

“Are you seriously asking me _why?!”_ Jaehyun jerks the phone away from his ears with a wince. “What do you mean, you thought I’m cheating on my wife? You can’t just send things like that through messages and expect me not to be shocked!”

“Well, since you’re busy, I don’t want to disturb you—”

“And messaging me like that without any explanation won’t?”

“...I’m sorry.”

“Aargh, no, don’t apologise again!”

“Sorry—” Jaehyun inhales sharply and presses his lips into a tight line— “I mean, I won’t do it again.”

There is faint chattering in the background from the other end, so Jaehyun levels his phone to his ear again. “What are you doing, hyung?”

“Are you seriously asking me _that_?”

When he does not grant Doyoung a reply, he sighs. “I just finished an interview.” A clang, then a muted apology. “Might pass and get promoted, or something. Thinking about lunch now, since I’ve got a half-day off today.”

Jaehyun perks up. “Wait, for real? Didn’t you say that you’re gonna go the lecturer route?”

Doyoung’s voice tilts as the chattering gradually loses volume. “Well, the previous director of my centre's been promoted into an executive position so there is a huge chance for me to be promoted in his place." He is smiling, Jaehyun realises at once. 

"Wow, that's great news!"

"Yeah, it really is,"

Trailing the crack in the wooden surface of the bench with his fingertips, Jaehyun stares blankly at the blue sky. Their line is silent for a few seconds, until Doyoung clears his throat.

"Are you free tonight, Jaehyun?"

"Yes."

"Good. Come over to my apartment, then. Be there around eight. Let's talk over dinner."

"Oh, okay."

It is only when Jaehyun is bidding his students goodbye later in the evening that he realizes he might have nonchalantly, without ruminating on it one bit, agreed to a date.

* * *

Renjun chortles above his book. He directs a look of disbelief towards Jaehyun. Since Jaehyun does not give him the satisfaction of seeing his disgruntled face, ( _he is a good actor, okay_ ) he slips in an old receipt in between the pages and shuts it with a loud thud.

"Okay, you've my full attention now." Renjun grins, but he looks just like Hyunjoon when he is up to mischief.

Jaehyun pushes his reading glasses up his nose bridge to squint at him in skepticism.

"Hyung, this time, tell me all of it again but with more _details_. Be as specific as you can."

Jaehyun groans. "I told you everything twice already!" He pauses and weighs the pros and cons before charging ahead. "Do you really, really think it's a date?"

"Hyung, how many parents have asked you out for dinner, again?"

"None? I mean, Junhwi’s grandma offers her restaurant vouchers to me every month, but you know we can't accept gifts."

Renjun arches an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, fine!" Jaehyun huffs and snatches the book from Renjun's hand just to be petty— _Courage To Be Disliked,_ the cover reads. He grimaces and gives it back.

"Don't you think it's ridiculous for him to still like me? I mean, I insulted him a lot before." Jaehyun glances around before grabbing his bottle and unscrewing the lid. He is getting rather thirsty from all the talking he is doing.

"I don't know," Renjun props his chin atop his knuckles and smirks, "oh, does he have a humiliation kink?"

He totally deserves the spray of water to his face for that.

"Hyung!"

Jaehyun hastens to screw the bottle lid back. "Do you expect me to like," he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, "tell you, or something?" He throws a packet of tissue for Renjun, who catches it and starts wiping his face with an indignant grumble.

“I’m joking, okay. You seem so worried for this dinner date, are you sure you still like him, though?”

Jaehyun is not only sure he still very much _likes_ Doyoung, he also has been thinking about _kissing_ him, amongst other things he wants to do— ever since the knowledge of the dinner possibly being a date popped up in his mind. He clears his throat and averts his eyes away.

“Maybe.”

When he takes a look at Renjun to see his reaction, his nose is wrinkled in clear distaste and his arms are crossed.

“What is it?”

“If Doyoung-hyung asks you a similar question tonight, please just tell him the truth. Vague answers don’t suit you.” Renjun shakes his head and stands up before resting his chair against the table. “Besides, your red ears are just gonna give you away. Later, hyung.” After giving a respectful bow, he walks out of the classroom.

Left alone with the new revelation, Jaehyun sets the tip of his ears aflame and almost crushes the bottle in his hand.

* * *

If there is anything Jaehyun has never told anyone, it is that he is a chronic worrier for things he wants to do well.

He stares at the clothes he has pulled out of his small wardrobe, scattered all over the furniture in his bedroom. None of them match well for a perfect outfit for tonight. If he wears what he usually wears, chances are Doyoung has seen him in that combination before when he comes over to the kindergarten.

His phone warns him that he has ten minutes left before he runs tight on schedule. Looking around him, he picks up a denim jacket by his feet and slips into it over his black shirt. He smooths down the creases, glances at the full-length mirror and contemplates the look. He does not want to look too try-hard in case this is _not_ a date, but he also wants to not half-ass this, if it _is_ a dinner date.

He misjudged him once. If Doyoung is willing to give him another chance, he doesn’t want this to end because he lacks efforts.

* * *

“Oh, you’re here! Welcome,” Doyoung greets him warmly at the first ring of the bell.

Jaehyun hopes his smile is not as stiff as he thinks it feels. He walks in, and recognises the familiar interior design. Same paintings, same rosemary plant (he did his research), but a different scent diffuser (there is a hint of jasmine here). Nothing major changes, but it feels like such a long time since the first and last time he visited this place.

Doyoung closes the door after him, and when he steps past the threshold, Jaehyun finally gets a full look at what he is wearing. A loose white long-sleeved shirt paired with jeans. The shirt is simple but it is not fully buttoned, so it shows off Doyoung’s prominent collarbones. Jaehyun gulps and tears his eyes away forcefully.

“Um,” he says. “Are you using Marine City? Your scent diffuser?”

Eyes sparkling, Doyoung points at the scent diffuser jar. “Oh! You’re right! I changed it recently because the last ran out. Do you use the same scent?”

Jaehyun fixes his eyes strictly on Doyoung’s face, blatantly disregarding the fact that the white shirt is not entirely opaque. He nods. “Yeah, it’s nice, isn’t it?”

Doyoung agrees, and they amble into the kitchen.

Here, Jaehyun takes in the sight of the table, on which two plates of steak are placed neatly, accompanied by wine glasses. His brain screams that this is totally a date-ambience. His brain should take a chill pill, sometimes. Either that, or take vocal lessons.

“Wow,” he whispers, “if I’m asked to rate the food, your presentation alone would guarantee five stars.”

Doyoung chuckles and ushers Jaehyun into his seat.

Jaehyun relishes in the way his laughter shakes a bit. Maybe he is not the only one worrying about tonight.

“Come on, let’s eat before the food gets cold.”

“Thank you for the food,” Jaehyun says before digging in. The meat, as he expected, is good. He closes his eyes and savours the flavour bursting in his mouth. When he opens his eyes, Doyoung is smiling at him. He mirrors the smile almost instinctively.

For a while, they eat together in a comfortable silence. Occasionally, they chat about the little things; Doyoung’s recipe, Jaehyun’s experience getting here today, and anecdotes from work. The food is delicious, and Doyoung is an enjoyable company.

Once they clear away their plates, Doyoung brings out a bottle of wine to the table. Jaehyun observes as Doyoung removes the cork with a corkscrew and places them aside. He takes note of the fact that although Doyoung’s smile is steady and as bright as always, there is a slight tremble in his hands while he moves about. He acts like he does not notice.

“Let me,” Doyoung says before bringing the bottle to Jaehyun’s glass. Jaehyun brings it closer to help him pour the wine, and says his thanks. After clinking their glasses together, they each take a small sip.

“So,” Jaehyun starts, because he is feeling brave. “How did the interview go?”

Doyoung hums. “That? It went great. I was ready, and I’m confident in my performance.” He swirls his wine and takes another sip. “But that’s not what you come here for, don’t you?”

Straight to the point.

Jaehyun sips his wine again to delay the inevitable. Why do feelings need to be talked about? He shifts in his chair and makes eye contact. “Yeah.”

“I know you said not to apologise, but I still think I should. I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions. To be honest, I liked the…” he trails off awkwardly.

“The sex?” Doyoung asks nonchalantly.

Jaehyun can already feel the telltale warmth creeping up to his ears. “Yeah, that,” he quickly takes another sip of the wine, “but I do like you too. In general. I mean, not just the sex. I like you more than just because of that.”

He feels like he is on fire.

Doyoung chuckles. “Thank you.” Perhaps out of kindness, he does not point out Jaehyun’s probably alarming-red ears. “You probably have forgotten this, but I’ll admit that I don’t ask a stranger over for dinner that often. Never, actually. Before you.”

“I’m honored.”

“I like you too, Jaehyun. But I deserve to know why you pushed me away at first. To be frank, I was hurt. I got over it, but before we proceed to anything, I hope you can tell me what went wrong. Be honest with me, please.”

And... here goes.

Swirling his wine, Jaehyun nods. He tells him the truth. How he assumed that Doyoung is married to Sooyoung, because they are Minyoung’s biological parents and the way she addresses them. He thought they were family, in the literal, traditional sense of that word. How mad it made him, that he feels like he was used, played almost.

Then he explained further, that he truly likes Doyoung, but he doesn’t want to be a homewrecker, and he wants to be a good teacher. What kind of a teacher would treat his student like a precious treasured gem but have an affair with one of their parents? Not him. He does not want that. He respects Minyoung and Sooyoung. Above all, he respects himself the most.

All while he is talking, Doyoung does not look away. Not once did he break eye contact. He made appropriate reactions at parts, too, and that helps Jaehyun with telling him all of the truth. It does not feel like he is being blamed for jumping to conclusions and ruining their first chance at trying this out. Even though it is mostly his fault they took this long to arrive at this point.

Once he is done, Doyoung shakes head. “You’re stupid,” he says, which is first of all, _rude_.

Jaehyun clamps his mouth shut and resists the impulse to retort, because the sentiment is essentially shared.

“You can ask Jaemin about me, to confirm if I really am still married to Sooyoung, but you don’t.” Doyoung clicks his tongue and leans back in his chair. “But I’ve to say, your resolution to follow your principle is really strong. At least I know now that I won't have to worry much about the type of a person Minyoung’s teacher is.”

A smile creeps up Jaehyun’s face.

"Also, I would lose respect in myself if I ever cheat on my partner. Never have, and not planning to anytime in the future," Doyoung says seriously.

Humming, Jaehyun presses his fingertip against his glass’ stem. It feels sturdy, yet so fragile. He spaces out a bit, wondering why Doyoung taking his misunderstandings all in a stride seems so hot. He might need to redefine his... standards for _clarity_ after tonight.

"Wait, just to be clear," he looks up, "what is your current status, hyung? I don't wanna assume things again."

Doyoung swallows the last mouthful of his wine while Jaehyun suppresses the increasingly worrying urge to stare intensely at the clothed display of broad shoulders, or the column of Doyoung’s neck, or the exposed collarbones.

"You already know me as Minyoung's biological father, but I'm also Sooyoung's ex-husband. We're friends now, Sooyoung and I. Definitely not married. She’s the one who remarried, I don’t. Not yet, anyway."

"I see."

 _Man_. He is too far gone. No saving him from falling down this rabbit hole of being head over heels for Doyoung, it seems. He swallows and forces his eyes to return to his wine glass.

"Say," Doyoung mumbles without looking at him. “Are you always this… you know the eyes emoji? The one which glance slightly to the left?”

When Jaehyun nods to him, albeit obviously confused, Doyoung continues but with more force directed in staring at his empty glass. “Yeah, that one. Are you always staring like that at someone you’re interested in, with maximum intensity level possible, or is that just my wrong assumption?”

It takes Jaehyun a moment to understand what he is asking. A moment too long, to be honest. As it sinks in, he feels heat spread throughout his chest and face, flaming his cheeks and neck ablaze.

“Oh—” Jaehyun panics, then stares at his own glass with a frown. “I’m sorry, I noticed that too— Tried to tone it down— um.” The heat takes a step further and escalates to the roots of his hair. “I’m not— not _always_ like this. But you’re not entirely wrong. I— urgh!”

Doyoung glances towards Jaehyun in alarm while he groans, drops his face halfway to bang his head on the table, has a second-thought and hangs it midway. Expensive utensils, his mind screeches. Face germs, no face-planting!

“Sorry, after I entertain the idea that this might be a date, I find you too hot.” Jaehyun rambles to the table. “I mean, you _are_ hot. And handsome. And your _collarbones_ — I mean, I can’t _focus_. Yeah. Sorry.”

The following silence that issues is almost eerie, if not for the loud and frantic beating of Jaehyun’s heart against his chest. He is going to shrivel out of embarrassment.

Why did he babble on about _that?_

Why does his mouth not know when to shut up?

_Stupid mouth, stupid mouth, stup—_

“Hey,” Doyoung’s voice shakes like he is going to cry.

Filled with dread, Jaehyun snaps his eyes up. This is going to be the end of—

— Doyoung is actually crying, tears running down his cheeks, but that familiar toothy grin is back, and it is as bright as ever. Wide eyes, Jaehyun gazes at him.

“Jaehyun-ah,” Doyoung trembles, the stream of tears out of his eyes is steady, “when I said be honest I wasn’t expecting _that,_ but—” his sentence cuts off while he doubles over, and Jaehyun realises that he is laughing. Doyoung is laughing silently, and the tears are from laughing.

Doyoung rises and smirks at him. Jaehyun’s attempt to stay collected is futile. His breath catches in his throat. Then, he hears what Doyoung has to say next;

“Thank you for the compliment, boyfriend. I know I’m hot.”

Which, let’s be real, is egoistic at best and narcissistic at the worst. Nevermind that Jaehyun wants to scream at the word ‘boyfriend’, or that his heart fully agrees with the second statement. It is only a matter of principle, so Jaehyun shows a throwing up expression of his own brand, the ugliest face one has ever seen in response to someone boasting. He only knows this because Doyoung gasps about it in between bouts of silent laughter.

It is not long before Jaehyun gives in and catches the laughing virus too.

At nine p.m., on a Wednesday, they laugh non-stop at the dining table until they cry. Two grown-up men; one a kindergarten teacher, and the other a student’s father.

It is the calmest Jaehyun has ever felt this year.

The tides retreat. This is only the start. The bigger wave is yet to come, but as long as they talk it out, Jaehyun is sure they would be able to get through them all.

* * *

The morning at the Jung-Kim residence starts with a loud screech. The sound rings in Jaehyun's ears as he springs up in bed, any trace of sleep jump-scared out of his system as the door flies open.

_"Are you the one who ate it??"_

Jaehyun blinks. "What?"

Doyoung scoffs and crosses his arms over his chest, unintentionally pulling the fabric of his turtleneck taut against his upper body muscles. It is only 8 a.m. in the morning, if the digital clock on the wall is not running out of battery again. Therefore, it is understandable that Jaehyun finds himself... hungry for a lot of things.

"Taeyong's birthday gift to me.” Doyoung is not pouting, but it is close enough. “Ferrero Rocher. White chocolate," he explains word-by-word. He still looks too irritated and inexplicably hot for a Sunday morning.

Jaehyun wrings his fuzzy brain to recollect what he did yesterday. And the day before. And—

"I don't think so." He yawns, getting sleepy again.

Squinting at him all the way from the door frame, Doyoung actually pouts this time. Jaehyun just feels a bit faint at the sight. He's getting so much better at navigating this whole relationship thingy.

"Are you sure you didn't sleepwalk last night and executed a silly revenge on me for not cuddling with you?"

Even with his muddled and sleepy-induced mind, Jaehyun feels his ears heat up. "What? I _don't_ mind at all whether we cuddle or snuggle at night!"

The realisation dawns on Doyoung as he fully takes in the sight. He frowns. "You do," he mutters. " _Oh my god_ , you totally do mind!"

He walks into the room, leaving the door ajar, and climbs onto the bed while Jaehyun, hopelessly flushed red, scoots backwards until his back hits the headboard with a soft thump.

"I told you, it's not a big deal—" he splutters.

Doyoung tsks. Crawls forward. Cradles Jaehyun's face with both hands so he could only look at him.

In a desperate last attempt, Jaehyun succeeds in breaking the intense eye contact. Although, in doing so, he becomes ultra aware of Doyoung's ridiculously snug black turtleneck and ripped jeans. ( _Why is he so dressed up for a weekend morning??_ ) Jaehyun’s face heats up while he manages a glare at Doyoung's styled hair.

"You're so cute." Doyoung chuckles. He knows the effects of his doings. The audacity.

"I'm sorry for falling asleep first last night, okay?" Doyoung smiles.

Then he loses his smile and does the almost-pout. ( _Help.)_

"But my chocolate—"

—Three knocks push their bedroom door wider apart with a slow creak. Both Doyoung and Jaehyun turn their heads towards the girl peeking in.

"Good morning.” Minyoung smiles, as bright as the sun outside. “Can i talk to Dad?"

Detracting his arms, which were confining Jaehyun to the bed, Doyoung moves to sit criss-crossed and pats the spot in front of him. "Come here, sweetie."

Minyoung climbs into the bed and plops before Doyoung with a sunny smile. The resemblance is too loud here. "Dad," she says in Tone Number One _(hereby referred to as Tone 1)_.

Oh ho. Jaehyun holds back a smile. He is accustomed to that tone, perhaps for far too well. Kindergarten has been nice to his acquired parenting skill in that sense. This would be interesting to watch.

Minyoung takes Doyoung's hands and brings them to her cheeks. "Dad, my teeth hurt."

Patting her cheek as a silent gesture to open up, Doyoung leans forward. He tilts her face sideways, then slightly up. He hums.

"Do you brush your teeth every day or not?"

Minyoung pouts. The similarity, again, is a punch right to the heart. "I do!"

"How many sweets did you eat yesterday?"

"Uh," she hesitates. "three candies, all given by Papa—"

—Jaehyun at least has the decency to look part guilty for that when Doyoung eyes him. What can he do? His child did so well in her midterm test. He is a nice teacher and an A+ parent, okay?

"An ice cream when we're out for an emergency grocery shopping last evening. Cookies and cream like yours," she continues.

Doyoung grins when Jaehyun sends him a half-heated glare. So that's why they took so long for dinner.

"A piece of white chocolate from the fridge last night because I'm too hungry... That's all! Five pieces, as we promised."

Doyoung's jaw drops.

Jaehyun freezes, torn between laughing or crying from relief. He is _not_ too old. He remembers right. He really isn’t the culprit.

Minyoung's eyebrows furrow when neither of her parents move for the longest time. "Dad…? Papa?" Then, because she inherited the same genius gene and jumping-to-conclusions as Doyoung, she squeaks out a timid "Am I going to lose my teeth?"

Just as her eyes start welling up, Jaehyun takes purchase of her hand. "Hey, hey, we don't know that yet. Let's see a dentist in a bit, okay?"

"A dentist?"

Jaehyun nods. "One of Papa's friends is a good dentist. He would know what to do with painful teeth. It'll be okay, hmm?"

Minyoung purses her lips. Nods weakly. Turns towards Doyoung and waits for his reassurance.

Jaehyun sneaks a pinch on Doyoung's back.

Startled from his sad trance, Doyoung nods vigorously. "Yeah!" His smile is a bit wobbly. "It'll be fine!"

Oblivious to the innocent mistake she did, Minyoung grins and hugs them both.

* * *

After their daughter has bounced out of the room, Doyoung leans against Jaehyun's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he says. His voice is muffled into the white t-shirt.

Jaehyun chuckles and sneaks his arms around Doyoung's waist. Oh, sweet, _sweet_ revenge.

"For what?" he teases.

"For accusing you of stealing my precious chocolate." Doyoung glances up to meet his eyes. There is a budding smirk on the corner of his lips. "And for denying you of a night long snuggle."

The unmistakable red shading the tips of Jaehyun's ears does not go unnoticed by either of them. Damn it. This is the third time already this morning.

To exact his revenge plan, he tilts his face down and kisses Doyoung’s smirk off his lips. They only stop when Doyoung's wheezing gets out of control and he has to breathe if he does not want to die laughing. Smiling himself, Jaehyun pecks on his neck, right where the line of his turtleneck stops.

"I love you," he mutters into Doyoung’s collarbones.

Doyoung snorts. All is forgiven when he hugs Jaehyun back and steals a bruising kiss, falling onto the bed together. Ever the coy man he is, he smirks into the kiss when Jaehyun's hand slips into his top.

"You’re a predictable dork… but I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> 🌊 a note of gratitude to T for reading over this and the countless encouragement; _i love you!_
> 
> 🌊 if you like this fic, consider leaving a kudos, comment or bookmark🥰 and check out other fics in the collection when it is up or by going [here!](https://twitter.com/search?q=donationbinxch&src=typed_query&f=live)
> 
> 🌊 if you would like to check out a short renmin thread fic of the same universe, [click here!](https://twitter.com/finlovesinjun/status/1285619928897409030?s=20)
> 
> 🌊soc med: [cc](https://curiouscat.me/shinecity) || [twitter](https://twitter.com/finlovesinjun)


End file.
